v 


AN  ISLAND  GOD 


By  GURDON  S.  MUMFORD 


AN  ISLAND  GOD  j»  A  TALE 
OF  THE  FIRST  KAMEHAMEH A 
BY  GURDON  S.  MUMFORD  j*  J>  * 

WITH  AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF 
THE  HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS  <*  BY 
RALPH  FRANK  WOODWARD,  Professor 
of  History,  Kamehameha  Institute,  Hawaii 

COVER     DESIGNED     BY 
ETHEL     WATTS     MUMFORD 


BOSTON 

SHERMAN,  FRENCH  fcf  COMPANY 

1907 


Copyright,  1899,  by 
BROWN    AND    COMPANY 


An  Island  God 
¥ 

CHAPTER  I 

FOR  two  hours  the  fierce  south- 
ern sun  had  been  climbing 
above  the  misty  horizon,  and  now 
beat  down  with  all  its  tropical  power 
upon  the  waving  palms  and  flash- 
ing reef  and  long  white  beach  of  a 
Pacific  island. 

Upon  the  greater  part  of  this 
fair  country,  from  the  green,  sharply 
outlined  mountains  in  the  north, 
down  through  precipitous  valleys 
and  over  smiling,  tree-grown  levels 
to  the  sea,  there  was  no  sign  of 
husbandry  or  of  man.  No  winding 
smoke  threads  polluted  the  air ;  no 


An  Island  God 

irregular  clearings  offended  the  eye. 
Through  all  the  upland  country, 
there  reigned  the  silence  of  pri- 
meval time.  But  down  on  the  edge 
of  a  long  curving  beach,  near  where 
a  great  spur  of  the  mountains  jutted 
into  the  sea,  was  a  little  group  of 
grass-thatched  huts,  half  hidden  in 
a  grove  of  palms. 

Overhead  the  huge  tufted  tops 
of  these  strange  flower-like  trees 
moved  slowly  to  and  fro,  and 
beneath,  the  strong,  soft  trade  wind 
swept  unheeded  between  broken,  ir- 
regular rows  of  deserted  houses,  and 
rustled  fitfully  under  their  grassy 
eaves.  The  same  weird  silence 
and  sense  of  desolation  that  pre- 
vailed on  the  rest  of  the  island 
was  also  here.  The  dark,  hole-like 
openings  in  the  huts  disclosed  no 
sign  of  life.  No  shadow  of  man 
broke  the  monotony  of  the  white 


An  Island  God 

sand's  glare ;  no  native  moved  in 
the  shade  of  the  trees.  And  yet, 
it  was  plainly  evident  that  human 
beings  had  recently  been  there. 
Ashes  not  yet  cold  lay  scattered 
between  the  low  walls  of  rude  cook- 
ing fireplaces,  and,  here  and  there, 
a  ponderous  club  or  forgotten  orna- 
ment betrayed  the  presence  of  an 
uncivilized  people. 

A  little  removed  from  the  main 
part  of  this  village,  and  somewhat 
larger  than  the  rest,  stood  a  hut 
whose  entrance  fronted  on  the  sea. 
For  an  hour,  the  inquisitive  tropical 
sun  had  been  slowly  mounting  over 
the  top  of  a  sheltering  palm,  and 
now  a  thin  ray  of  light  stole,  like  a 
pioneer,  into  the  dark  door  of  the 
hut. 

Across  the  matted  floor  it  trav- 
elled over  to  where  a  frail  screen 
of  leaves  partitioned  off  the  room  ; 
3 


An  Island  God 

and  there,  behind  this  insect  bar- 
rier, a  man  lay  sleeping.  His  face, 
half  inverted,  rested  on  his  arm,  and, 
in  the  dim  light,  the  deep  wrinkles 
and  clear  lines  of  his  sharp,  Spanish 
profile  were  soft  and  vague,  as  in  a 
painting  mellowed  by  age.  But 
black  rims  were  under  the  eyes, 
and  the  white,  sallow  skin  told 
a  tale  of  fatigue,  exposure,  and 
sickness. 

Slowly  the  sun  invaded  the  room, 
lighting  up,  bit  by  bit,  the  black, 
high-collared,  close-fitting  garment 
of  the  sleeper,  and  sparkling  bravely 
on  the  beaded  chain  that  fell  from 
the  neck  across  his  breast,  bearing 
that  well-known  symbol  of  the 
Catholic  Church  —  the  Cross  and 
the  Crucified  Christ. 

But  the  slumberer  did  not  awake. 
He  was  dreaming  of  other  days ; 
of  his  old,  beautiful  home  in  Seville ; 


An  Island  God 

of  the  long  past,  sunny  years  before 
he  left  his  friends  and  country  to 
battle  for  Christ  in  far-off  savage 
lands.  And,  like  time,  his  dreams 
moved  onward,  bringing  to  life  the 
joys  and  sorrows  of  the  past.  Again 
he  saw  that  moonlit,  Spanish  garden 
where  in  hate  and  jealousy  he  had 
bidden  his  love  good-bye.  Again 
he  was  at  the  Jesuit  altar,  swearing  to 
serve  God  and  his  general,  and  to 
renounce  all  earthly  things.  Then 
came  the  long  journey  across  the 
Atlantic,  his  body  sick  to  death  with 
the  pitching  of  the  little  caravel,  and 
his  soul  filled  with  black  despair. 

At  last  he  was  in  Mexico.  There, 
in  that  strange,  newly-conquered 
country,  with  its  proud,  grief-stricken 
people,  even  then  fast  disappearing 
from  the  earth,  his  mind  had  broad- 
ened. He  found  that  there  were 
other  sorrows  than  his.  Day  after 
5 


An  Island  God 

day,  he  had  fasted  and  prayed  after 
the  fashion  of  his  order,  and,  nerved 
by  the  example  of  such  men  as 
Father  Serra  Junipero,  he  had  cheer- 
fully followed  the  great  missionary's 
expedition  across  the  baking,  thorny 
deserts  of  Mexico  to  a  far-off  coast 
where  vessels  were  ready  to  carry 
them  to  a  strange  wilderness  called 
California.  The  whole  scene  was 
before  him  ;  —  the  sandy  sun-baked 
coast,  shading  off  into  low  hills 
covered  with  sage  brush,  and  the 
two  high-pooped  vessels  at  anchor 
in  the  shallow  bay. 

Once  more  he  was  setting  out  on 
a  seaward  journey  ;  this  time  for  an 
unknown  destination,  and  one  by 
one,  the  figures  of  the  little  com- 
pany of  colonists  passed  before  him. 
There  was  Father  Serra,  the  leader, 
with  bare  feet,  torn  and  raw  from 
cactus  thorns,  and  his  thin  face  lit 
6 


An  Island  God 

up  with  the  fierce  passion  of  relig- 
ious zeal ;  there  too  were  his  brother 
monks,  pale,  quiet  men,  gentle,  yet 
stern,  a  few  hopeful,  the  rest  cast 
down,  but  all  obedient  to  the  com- 
mands of  their  superior  and  filled 
with  the  thought  of  founding  a  great 
church  empire.  Others  followed  ; 
the  soldier  with  rusty  breastplate  and 
musketoon,  the  sailor  with  his 
dirk. 

And  then  began  again  that  long, 
dangerous  voyage  up  the  coast, 
ended  at  last  in  a  quiet,  land-locked 
harbor,  which  they  called  San  Diego. 
Here  Father  Serra  stopped,  but  he 
and  three  other  monks  sailed  north 
to  explore  further.  Then  followed 
the  great  storm  which  had  driven 
their  little  galleon,  mastless  and  leak- 
ing, out  into  the  Pacific.  Ten  days 
and  nights  had  they  scudded  be- 
fore the  gale,  working  always  at  the 
7 


An  Island  God 

pumps,  only  at  last  to  spring  an- 
other leak  and  founder. 

Weary,  sick  of  life,  he  felt  almost 
glad  when  he  found  himself  in  the 
sea.  But  nature  was  still  strong, 
and,  seeing  a  large  mass  of  spars  and 
wreckage,  he  contrived  to  reach  and 
climb  upon  it.  And  now,  as  the 
sleeping  man  writhed  about  in  an 
imaginary  struggle  for  existence,  the 
course  of  the  dream  changed  from 
the  true  current  of  the  real  happen- 
ing, and  he  believed  himself  to  be 
drowning.  But  the  emotion  was 
too  great  to  be  borne,  and  his  limbs 
stiffened  slightly,  and  his  eyes 
opened. 

For  a  moment  he  looked  around 
in  a  dazed  way,  and  then  he  remem- 
bered. The  drifting  raft,  the  two 
long  days  when  he  lay  upon  it, 
starving  and  eaten  up  with  thirst; 
then  the  sight  of  land  and  the  fa- 
8 


An  Island  God 

voring  current,  and,  at  last,  the  great 
line  of  breakers  which  had  swept 
him,  faint  and  half  unconscious,  into 
the  calm  water  near  shore,  where 
hundreds  of  dark-skinned  natives 
were  bathing.  ^' 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER   II 

SLOWLY  the  Priest  rose  from 
the  floor,  and,  going  to  the 
door,  seated  himself  beside  a  wood 
platter  on  which  were  roots,  bananas, 
and  tropical  fruits.  As  he  ate,  his 
thoughts  were  busy.  In  vain  he 
tried  to  fathom  the  character  of  this 
curious  people ;  no  light  broke  the 
gloom  of  his  troubled  mind.  Little 
as  he  had  seen,  their  habits  were 
weird  and  ungodly,  and,  involun- 
tarily, he  crossed  himself. 

Faint  and  half  dead,  he  had  come 
among  them,  —  washed  up  from  out 
of  the  sea,  —  and  they  had  received 
and  cared  for  him,  giving  him  a  house 
and  food.  But  their  hospitality  and 
care  had  the  look  and  feel  of  a  thing 
uncanny.  For  five  days  he  had 
10 


An  Island  God 

lain  sick,  and  resting  upon  his  bed 
in  the  hut,  but  no  one  spoke  to 
him,  no  one  approached  him,  save 
only  a  lithe,  black-haired  girl  who 
brought  his  food. 

Every  morning  early  the  natives 
would  disappear,  and,  for  three 
hours,  the  village  remained  deserted ; 
then  they  would  return  as  silently 
as  they  went,  and  he  would  see 
them  bathing  in  the  surf.  And 
now,  as  he  looked  out  towards  the 
sea,  he  saw  that  they  were  coming 
back.  Soon  the  ocean  was  full  of 
life.  Out  by  the  white  line  of  the 
reef,  where  the  great  breakers  came 
curling  in,  long,  narrow  canoes  shot 
to  and  fro ;  further  in,  black- 
haired  heads  bobbed  up  and  down 
in  the  water,  and,  from  time  to 
time,  the  tall,  naked  form  of  some 
daring  surf  rider  would  appear  poised 
between  breaker  and  sky,  as  he  shot 
ii 


An  Island  God 

towards  shore,  balancing  his  board 
on  a  wall  of  foam. 

As  the  Priest  sat  musing  and 
gazing  on  the  scene  before  him,  a 
shadow  suddenly  appeared  across 
his  own.  Turning  around,  he  saw 
the  native  girl  who  brought  his 
food.  Motionless,  she  stood,  star- 
ing at  him  intently  with  an  expres- 
sion which  was  a  strange  mixture 
of  fear,  worship,  and  an  intangible 
something  which  he  could  not  divine. 
As  he  looked  at  her,  she  quickly 
averted  her  head,  gazing  fixedly 
upon  the  ground.  Kindly  and 
quietly,  the  Priest  spoke  to  her, 
first  in  Spanish,  then  in  Aztec,  and 
finally  in  a  curious  smattering  of 
French,  Portuguese,  and  Indian 
dialects  which  he  had  picked  up 
from  an  old  Franciscan  friar  who 
had  accompanied  him  on  part  of 
the  journey  through  Mexico. 

12 


An  Island  God 

But  the  girl  made  no  sign  of 
understanding,  only  stood  there, 
stolid,  silent,  and  as  unresponsive 
as  a  statue.  With  a  sigh,  the 
Priest  turned  away.  What  could 
he  do  to  gain  a  footing  with  these 
incomprehensible  people  ?  If  they 
would  but  talk,  he  knew  that  he 
would  soon  understand  them ;  for 
he  had  a  remarkable  gift  for  lan- 
guages, and  had  often  succeeded, 
where  others  failed,  in  carrying  on 
speech  with  men  of  unknown 
tongues,  to  the  great  wonder  of 
his  brother  monks. 

But  she  must  have  some  object 
—  some  reason  for  her  presence,  and 
he  faced  swiftly  about.  She  was  again 
gazing  at  him  with  the  same  absorbed 
interest  as  before,  and  he  thought 
he  could  catch  a  meaning  of  awe, 
pity,  and  of  a  great  kindness  in  the 
changing  shadow  of  her  eyes. 
13 


An  Island  God 

For  a  second  she  stood  thus, 
then,  with  a  frightened  look  over 
her  shoulder,  she  caught  up  the  half- 
empty  platter  and  ran  from  the 
door. 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER   III 

FR  many  days  the  life  of  the 
Priest  ran  on  in  a  calm  but 
yet  eventful  way.  Of  present  harm 
or  future  ill,  there  seemed  little 
ground  for  fear.  His  hut  was  free 
from  intruders  ;  there  was  no  hin- 
derance  to  his  freedom.  Often  he 
would  take  journeys  about  the 
island,  and,  wherever  he  went,  no 
one  attempted  to  bar  his  way. 

But,  for  all  that,  he  was  a  prisoner. 
He  knew,  or  rather  he  could  feel, 
that  some  one  was  always  watching 
him  ;  a  system  of  secret  espionage 
forever  hemmed  him  in.  Once, 
after  a  long  tramp  to  the  top  of  a 
mountain,  he  had  decided  to  sleep 
for  the  night  where  he  was.  Light- 
ing a  fire,  he  drew  up  some  boughs 


An  Island  God 

for  fuel  and  a  bed.  But,  even  as  he 
knelt  to  repeat  the  creed,  a  huge, 
glistening  native  strode  into  the 
circle  of  light  and  forced  him  sternly, 
with  his  spear,  home  to  the  village 
on  the  shore. 

But  if,  on  the  one  side,  he 
could  never  get  away  from  this 
mysterious  people,  on  the  other,  he 
could  never  get  to  them.  Like  a 
hazy  mist,  they  disappeared  when- 
ever he  came  near.  If  he  entered  a 
house,  they  would  go  out  by 
another  way,  or  cower  in  a  corner 
until  he  had  gone.  Often  he  would 
come  upon  them,  while  at  their 
games,  of  which  they  had  many,  — 
such  as  sliding  down  steep  hills  on 
sleds,  or  leaping  from  low  cliffs  into 
the  sea ;  but,  before  he  had  reached 
them,  their  noise  and  laughter 
would  stop,  and  they  would  steal 
quietly  and  quickly  away. 
16 


An  Island  God 

But  there  were  others  who  could 
not  flee  from  him,  and,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  these,  the  tight-strung 
nerves  of  the  castaway  must  have 
yielded  before  the  fierce  siege  of 
solitude  and  sickening  despair, 
which,  as  the  days  went  by,  drew 
always  closer  and  closer  around  his 
heart.  Those  of  the  natives  who 
awaited  his  coming  were  of  a  class 
whom  he  had  long  ago  learned  to 
know  in  other  lands.  They  were 
the  sick  and  the  dying,  the  old  and 
the  deformed.  And  with  the  in- 
stinct of  his  order,  and  the  patience 
and  skill  of  many  years,  he  moved 
among  them,  speaking  a  language 
all  could  understand. 

But  where  they  were,  and  how  to 
find  them,  he  only  discovered  by  an 
accident. 

One  morning  while  climbing  to 
the  top  of  a  great  cliff  not  far  from 

2  I7 


An  Island  God 

the  village,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  a 
sail,  he  caught  sight  of  several 
old  men  and  children,  apparently 
guarded  by  two  warriors  with 
spears,  who  were  making  their  way 
along  one  of  the  lower  ridges 
toward  the  interior.  All  the  natives 
that  he  had  thus  far  seen  were 
tall,  strong,  and  comely,  bodily,  —  a 
splendid  race,  —  and  it  was  with  a 
great  interest  that  he  followed  this 
straggling  band,  to  learn  their 
destination. 

Up  into  the  mountains  they 
pushed,  the  old  falling  from  time  to 
time,  only  to  be  prodded  and  stabbed 
by  their  guards  until  they  rose, 
bleeding  from  the  wounds,  and  stag- 
gered on.  At  last  they  reached  a 
sort  of  natural  amphitheatre  formed 
by  some  great  volcanic  convul- 
sion, blocking  up  a  mountain  gully. 
Down  its  shaly  sides  the  party 
18 


An  Island  God 

went,  and,  when  the  Priest  reached 
the  crest  and  looked  below,  he  saw 
with  horror  that  the  warriors  were 
digging  graves. 

In  a  stupor  the  Priest  watched 
them.  At  intervals,  he  heard  the 
faint  click  of  their  broad-bladed 
spears  in  the  gravelly  soil,  and,  at 
last,  he  saw  them  lift  up  the  little, 
deformed  children,  and  those  of  the 
sick  and  aged  who  were  too  weak  to 
resist,  and  force  them,  without  a  strug- 
gle, into  the  living  tomb. 

This,  then,  was  the  islanders'  hos- 
pital !  This  was  what  became  of 
the  old !  His  stomach  sickened 
within  him ;  the  blood  rushed  to  his 
head ;  he  stumbled,  he  fell ;  he 
gasped  for  air. 

But  in  his  veins  ran  the  blood  of 

a     hundred    fighting    ancestors,  — 

martyrs  and  soldiers  for  the  Church 

and  for  Spain.     The  pallor  slowly 

19 


An  Island  God 

returned  to  his  face.  In  his  eyes 
there  came  the  light  of  a  great  pur- 
pose, —  an  unshakable  resolve  ;  his 
lips  hardened,  his  hands  met  upon 
the  cross,  and,  in  another  moment, 
he  had  rushed  down  the  slope,  and, 
with  bloody  nails,  was  tearing  the 
still  damp  earth  from  off  the  grave. 
For  a  space,  the  horrified  man 
dug  into  the  ground,  breathing 
quickly  and  hard  as  he  labored 
with  frantic  haste,  and  in  this  short 
time  were  crowded  the  excitement 
and  emotions  of  years.  Quick  as 
he  had  been,  he  was  almost  too  late. 
Half  of  the  unfortunates  were  dead. 
But  the  rest,  two  old  men  and  a 
child,  showed  slight  signs  of  life. 
On  these  he  worked,  stretching 
them  upon  the  ground  and  rubbing 
them  after  the  fashion  used  among 
sailors  to  revive  the  drowned.  At 
last,  exhausted  with  his  efforts,  he 

20 


An  Island  God 

stopped  and  looked  around.  In 
his  excitement,  he  had  forgotten  the 
guard.  Now  he  could  see  them  no- 
where. Nothing  but  the  crater-like 
crest  of  the  hill,  with  its  smiling  back- 
ground of  sky  and  the  waving,  yellow- 
green  clumps  of  Kakui,  met  his  eye. 

But  it  mattered  little,  his  way 
was  plain.  Half  carrying,  half 
dragging  them,  he  got  the  sufferers 
to  a  little  spring,  where,  with  ice- 
cold  water,  he  soon  brought  the 
breath  back  to  their  bodies.  Dazed 
and  stupid,  they  looked  about  them, 
but  made  no  sign  of  intelligence. 
And  seeing  that  they  would  not  stir, 
with  a  stifled  remembrance  of  Seville, 
and  a  half  unconscious  prayer,  the 
Priest  started  for  the  shore. 

Two  hours  later  he  returned, 
bringing  some  food  and  a  few  herbs 
and  leaves ;  the  rescued  natives  were 
still  where  he  had  left  them. 


21 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER   IV 

DAY  after  day,  the  Priest  visited 
his  little  colony,  which  never 
wandered,  but  always  waited  for  him 
in  sullen,  silent  apathy.  Only  once 
was  there  an  attempt  to  repeat  the 
tragedy  of  the  amphitheatre,  and 
then,  through  the  agency  of  a  thing 
trivial  and  unforeseen,  it  ended  in  a 
way  that  was  grimly  humorous. 

It  had  been  a  cloudy,  showery 
day,  and  the  Priest  was  slowly  de- 
scending over  the  wet,  short  grass 
that  covered  the  precipitous  slopes 
of  the  mountain.  As  he  turned  the 
corner  of  a  great  buttress-like  bowl- 
der, he  had  come  suddenly  upon  a 
band  of  cripples  on  their  way  to 
the  top.  Filled  with  indignation, 


22 


An  Island  God 

his  deep-set  eyes  contracted  and 
glistening  like  fire-lit  coals,  he  ad- 
vanced toward  the  guards.  But 
they  did  not  wait  for  him.  The 
pallor  of  terror  and  of  a  mortal  fear 
crept  over  their  fierce,  brown  faces, 
and,  stepping  backward  in  their  con- 
sternation, they  slipped  and  tum- 
bled, one  over  the  other,  to  the 
bottom  of  the  ravine. 

Sternly  the  Priest  smiled.  If 
there  was  no  road  to  their  souls 
through  kindness,  there  might  be 
one  through  fear.  And  he  led  the 
deserted  wretches  up  to  their  com- 
rades on  the  mountain. 

Thus  his  colony  was  increased, 
and,  with  unwearying  watchfulness, 
he  fed  and  looked  after  them,  har- 
vesting in  return  only  a  crop  of 
silence  and  abject  fear. 

Some  words,  indeed,  he  learned 
of  the  language  ;  and  at  times  he 
23 


An  Island  God 

would  act  the  spy,  listening  for 
hours  to  what  they  said.  But  their 
talk  was  scattered  and  drivelling, 
and  its  import  stupid  and  unintelli- 
gible to  any  but  themselves. 

Two  things,  at  least,  became  clear 
through  all  this  watching.  He  was 
known  to  them  by  the  name  of 
Kani,  and,  further,  they  spoke  of 
him  as  of  a  temporary  thing, — 
some  one  they  should  see  but  a 
short  time. 

What  they  meant  —  whether  they 
merely  believed  him  to  be  a  god 
who  would  soon  vanish,  or  whether, 
indeed,  his  life  was  doomed  to  be 
offered  up  at  last,  as  the  crowning 
climax  of  some  ghastly,  heathen 
rite  —  he  could  not  tell.  The 
whole  thing — this  dark,  well-formed 
people  who  lived  nowhere  and 
everywhere,  their  irregular  habits, 
eating  and  sleeping  by  night,  and 
24 


An  Island  God 

by  day,  their  strange  disappearances, 
and,  above  all,  that  iron,  rigid  law 
of  silence  and  fear  which  they 
obeyed  without  a  murmur  —  was  a 
mystery,  weird  and  unfathomable. 

But  he  did  not  entirely  despair. 
At  times,  great  hopes  would  be 
born  in  his  brain.  Visions  of  a 
great  triumph  would  pass  before 
him,  —  his  own  influence  slowly  and 
surely  winning  its  way,  a  new  peo- 
ple cleansed  and  regenerated  by  the 
Church,  a  smiling  country  dotted 
with  tilled  fields  and  low  white 
churches  with  softly  tolling  bells, 
a  harbor  filled  with  ships,  and, 
over  all,  the  cross  of  God  and  the 
flag  of  Spain. 

And  he  would  sit  wrapped  in  a 
profound  ecstasy. 

But  more  often  came  the  times 
when  he  would  not  know  where  to 
turn.  His  heart,  his  soul,  almost 
25 


An  Island  God 

his  religion  failed  him.  And  then 
he  would  look  forward,  with  a 
dumb,  hungry  craving  for  compan- 
ionship, to  the  time  when  the  native 
girl  would  bring  his  food.  For 
every  morning,  noon,  and  night  she 
still  laid  fruit  outside  the  door,  as  if 
following  some  fixed  custom. 

Tall,  supple,  and  well  formed,  she 
was  a  splendid  type  of  the  island 
race ;  but  it  was  her  face  that 
marked  her  out  from  the  others. 
For  she  was  beautiful,  but  not  as 
savages  are  beautiful.  There  was 
a  fineness  of  line  and  a  certain  faint 
glimmering  of  soul  in  her  eyes  that 
the  Priest  never  saw  among  her 
people. 

And,  in  the  Priest's  darker  mo- 
ments, his  heart  found  relief  in  pity- 
ing her.  He  longed  to  teach  her 
the  great  truths,  and  baptize  her  into 
his  religion.  But,  since  the  day 
26 


An  Island  God 

when  he  rose  from  his  sickness,  she 
never  waited  on  her  errand  even  a 
minute,  and,  wherever  he  went,  she 
carefully  avoided  him ;  though,  at 
times,  he  fancied  her  fear  of  him 
was  gone.  Often  he  found  flowers 
beside  the  fruit,  and  he  tried  to 
thank  her,  but  she  ran  away  before 
he  could  speak. 

Once,  indeed,  it  was  raining,  and, 
stretched  on  a  mat  in  the  back  of 
the  hut,  the  Priest  watched  her  as 
she  stepped  inside  with  his  noon- 
time meal.  Suddenly  he  said,  in 
the  island  language, — 

"Your  name?" 

"  Aloha,"  she  answered,  involun- 
tarily, and  her  eyes  lifted  to  his. 

But  he  was  looking  beyond  her. 
His  gaze  was  fixed  on  the  door. 

There,  outlined  against  the  gloomy 
sea,  and  the  white  line  of  the  reef, 
was  the  peeping  head  and  shoulders 
27 


An  Island  God 

of  a  man.  A  black  cloth  rose  from 
a  body  and  swathed  the  face  from 
forehead  to  chin,  and  on  the  fierce, 
bold  features  that  peered  from  out 
of  this  sombre  hood  was  the  stamp 
of  fear  and  of  superstition,  and  of 
cruel  and  malignant  hate. 

For  a  moment  it  remained,  and 
then  it  was  gone. 

The  Priest  looked  at  the  girl. 

But  Aloha,  also,  had  seen  it.  Pale 
and  shaking  like  a  twig  in  the  breeze, 
she  stole  away.  Thereafter,  she 
came  upon  her  duties  so  silently 
that  he  did  not  see  her  for  days. 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER  V 

LATE  into  the  night  the  Priest 
sat  thinking.  His  nerves  were 
shaken  by  the  strange  occurrence 
of  the  noon ;  and  he  felt  that,  if  he 
could  not  find  some  reason  for  these 
mysteries,  he  might  soon  be  insane. 
Weary,  at  last,  with  fruitless  thought, 
he  fell  asleep  ;  and  neither  the  morn- 
ing, nor  the  next  morning,  nor  the 
one  after,  brought  any  change  into 
his  life. 

But  the  time  when  he  should  un- 
ravel all  these  knotty  perplexities 
was  not  far  off.  Like  nearly  all  im- 
portant things,  it  came  close  on  the 
heels  of  the  unexpected. 

One  morning,  perhaps  a  week 
later,  the  Priest  was  picking  his  way 
over  dusty  fireplaces  and  by  occa- 
29 


An  Island  God 

sional  heaps  of  litter  that  filled  up 
the  spaces  between  the  round  grass 
houses  of  the  village.  This  collec- 
tion of  huts,  or  native  town,  was  the 
largest  and  the  only  one  of  size  upon 
the  island.  And  it  ran  in  a  grop- 
ing, irregular  way,  branching  out, 
wherever  the  land  was  shady,  or 
where  there  were  springs,  from  the 
sea  up  into  a  broad,  deep  valley 
that  led  to  a  chain  of  mountains 
which  formed  the  backbone  of  the 
island. 

About  half  the  distance  of  the 
furthest  inland  hut  from  the  sea 
was  a  great  square-built  grass  house 
large  enough  to  hold  some  fifty 
people.  But,  from  all  appearance, 
it  was  never  used.  At  rare  times 
the  Priest  had  seen,  by  night,  huge 
shadows  of  men  about  the  door, 
who  disappeared  around  the  build- 
ing's side,  if  any  came  near.  But 
30 


An  Island  God 

the  natives  avoided  it  by  day,  and 
the  Priest,  in  passing,  kept  it  far  off. 
The  mere  sight  jarred  upon  his 
soul.  It  was,  perhaps,  another  of 
their  ghastly  mysteries. 

Now,  however,  as  he  passed 
along  on  his  way  to  the  mountains, 
with  this  strange,  overgrown  hut 
showing  dimly  among  the  trees,  the 
Priest  thought  he  heard  a  groan. 

Again  it  came ;  this  time  without 
mistake.  And  the  Priest  pushed 
quickly  and  resolutely  through  the 
bushes  toward  the  square,  grass 
house  whence  the  sound  had  come. 
Reaching  the  cleared  space  that 
surrounded  the  house,  he  saw  what 
was  the  matter.  An  old  man  had 
evidently  climbed  to  the  top  of  a 
cocoanut-tree  and  had  fallen,  for  he 
now  lay  moaning  on  the  ground 
with  the  half-cracked  cocoanuts 
around  him  and  two  jagged  splinters 
31 


An  Island  God 

of  bone  projecting  just   above  the 
elbow. 

At  the  end  of  some  little  time, 
the  Priest  had  made  a  rough  set- 
ting, for  he  was  skilled  in  leeching 
and  surgery,  as  were  all  his  order. 
But  the  native  had  fainted.  In  a 
deathly  stupor,  he  lay,  his  grizzled 
hair  and  bruised,  gray  face  thickly 
covered  with  dirt. 

The  Priest  looked  around. 

A  deep  stillness  rested  on  the 
whole  village.  Not  a  sound  nor 
motion  stirred  the  air.  The  natives 
were  away  on  their  mysterious 
morning  pilgrimage.  Before  him 
stood  the  great,  grass  hut,  its  black 
doorway  sternly  repellent,  and  the 
shadow  of  its  long  eaves  extending 
far  out  towards  him. 

With  a  quick  throb  of  the  heart, 
the    Priest    advanced    towards    the 
door;  he  must  have  water. 
32 


An  Island  God 

But  even  as  his  foot  touched  the 
long  shadow  from  the  roof,  there 
came  a  sudden  cry,  a  sound  of 
running  feet,  and  some  one  was 
clinging  to  him,  holding  firmly 
around  his  knees.  He  looked 
down.  It  was  Aloha. 

"  Oh,  do  not  go  in  the  shadow  of 
the  King's  house  !  Oh,  do  not  go 
in  the  shadow  of  the  King's  house  !  " 
and  she  moaned  and  moaned, 
repeating  it  over  and  over  again. 

"  But  why,  my  child  ?  "  he  asked 
her  gently ;  and  then  all  the 
anxiety,  all  the  long  brooding  of 
his  heart  broke  forth,  — 

"Why  will  they  not  speak  to 
me,  Aloha?" 

And  she  leaned  her  face  up  to  him  ; 
but  all  the  terror,  all  the  fear  was 
gone. 

"  It  is  death  to  speak  to  one  who 
is  under  the  Taboo." 
3  33 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER  VI 

MINUTES  went  by,  and  the 
shadow  of  the  house  drew 
slowly  back  from  their  feet.  But 
they  did  not  move.  Like  some 
statue  group,  they  remained,  Aloha 
still  kneeling,  the  Priest  deep  in 
thought. 

With  a  long  breath,  at  last,  the 
Priest  drew  gently  away,  and  turned 
to  the  old  native.  The  sufferer 
had  come  to  his  senses,  and  was 
struggling  weakly  to  get  up. 

Alone,  the  Priest  helped  the  old 
man  to  his  hut,  for  Aloha  had 
gone. 

But  the  Priest  was  no  longer 
despondent.  A  great  light  had 
risen  out  of  the  darkness,  and  now 
34 


An  Island  God 

there  was  a  beacon  to  guide  his 
way. 

Nor  did  he  fail  to  use  it ;  and 
many  times,  during  the  next  few 
days,  the  Priest  sought  out  Aloha 
and  questioned  her,  as  best  he  could, 
on  all  that  he  wanted  to  know. 
And  she  would  wait  for  him,  shyly 
and  timidly  and  with  head  cast 
down,  on  the  seashore  and  on  the 
mountain  and  in  out  of  the  way 
places  where  no  one  might  see 
them.  But  most  often  they  met  in 
the  morning,  when  her  people  were 
away. 

And  the  Priest  learned  many 
things.  He  learned  that  there  were 
other  islands  not  far  off,  and  that 
there  lived  on  them  an  even 
fiercer  and  more  warlike  people 
than  those  around  him. 

On  the  largest  of  these  islands, 
as  Aloha  said,  was  a  mighty  King 
35 


An  Island  God 

named  Kamehameha,  who  had  con- 
quered and  killed  all  his  enemies; 
and  of  him  her  people  had  great 
fear,  for  it  was  in  the  air  that  he 
was  even  then  coming  with  a  great 
army  to  win  their  island,  and,  if 
this  were  so,  it  meant  the  death  of 
every  man,  woman,  and  child. 

But  stranger  than  this,  to  the 
Priest,  were  Aloha's  words  a  few 
days  later.  It  was  a  stormy  day  and 
dark,  and  the  air  was  heavy  with 
rain.  Sheltered  beneath  the  thick, 
down-growing  branches  of  a  gnarled 
Hau-tree  whose  shadow  dulled  even 
the  sharp  lightning  flashes,  Aloha 
had  told  him  of  a  great  mountain 
of  fire  which  she  and  her  people  had 
seen  many  years  ago,  rising  up  in 
flame  and  cloud  over  the  distant 
edge  of  the  ocean. 

"  There,"  Aloha  went  on,  point- 
ing between  the  leaves  to  the  dim 
36 


An  Island  God 

line  of  sea,  "  lives  Puela,  the  mother 
of  fire  ;  and  there,  with  her,  live  her 
sons,  who  never  die,  and  who  are 
white,  even  as  you  are." 

And  Aloha  bent  down  and  kissed 
the  Priest's  feet. 

"  But,  my  child,"  said  the  Priest, 
shrinking  away  from  her,  "  I  am  no 
god,  nor  is  there  any  such  woman." 
And  he  tried  to  tell  her  the  creed  of 
the  Catholic  Church. 

But  of  this  she  would  hear  noth- 
ing; his  words  were  lost  in  air. 
She  would  sit,  her  knees  doubled 
under  her,  listening,  silent  and  atten- 
tive, to  all  he  said.  But  her  atten- 
tion was  that  of  a  wooden  block. 
About  all  the  higher  part  of  her 
nature  —  those  mountains  of  the 
soul  —  there  hung  a  thick  cloud  of 
ignorance,  superstition,  and  fear. 

But  if  Aloha  would  not  give 
thought  to  his  religion,  neither 
37 


An  Island  God 

would  she  tell  him  of  hers.  Her 
answers  to  the  Priest's  questions 
were  never  longer  than  yes  or  no ; 
and,  sometimes,  she  would  not 
answer  at  all. 

Who  or  what  her  people  wor- 
shipped, and  how,  and  where  they 
went  in  the  morning,  were  things 
about  which  Aloha  would  not  speak.  . 

"  No,  no,  stay  !  "  she  would  cry, 
when  the  Priest,  vexed  at  her  ob- 
stinacy, started  to  go;  and  Aloha 
would  cling  to  the  Priest's  coat  in 
an  agony  of  dumb  despair.  Then 
again,  her  mood  would  change,  and 
she  would  walk  off  haughtily,  with 
her  chin  in  the  air. 

But  gradually  the  Priest  learned, 
through  long  and  patient  effort, 
that  there  were  men  among  the 
natives  who  practised  secretly  many 
weird  rites  and  incantations,  and 
who  led  the  people  in  their  worship. 
38 


An  Island  God 

This  body  of  heathen  wizards  or 
sorcerers  had  a  lineage  very  old, 
and,  under  the  King,  was  all  power- 
ful, for  they  claimed  to  tell  the 
happenings  of  the  future  and  to 
know  the  will  of  the  unseen.  From 
them  and  the  King  came  the  laws 
and  customs  that  ruled  the  people ; 
and,  when  the  word  went  forth,  there 
was  no  cavil  nor  repeal ;  like  the 
iron  hand  of  fate,  it  pressed  relent- 
lessly on  all,  and  the  natives  bowed, 
trembling,  before  it. 

Of  his  own  destiny,  whether  life 
or  death,  and  the  mystery  that  sur- 
rounded it,  the  Priest  could  find  out 
little.  That  he  was  helpless  before 
the  will  of  the  native  sorcerers  was 
plain,  and  he  knew  that  they  were 
treating  him  in  a  manner  fixed  by 
some  custom  or  tradition.  But  he 
felt  also,  although  he  could  lay  it  to 
no  reason,  that  the  strange  groove 
39 


An  Island  God 

of  life  in  which  they  had  kept  him 
would  not  long  endure,  and  that, 
indeed,  it  was  already  approaching 
its  end. 

Often  the  Priest  would  question 
Aloha  about  that  grim  law  which 
imprisoned  the  tongue,  and  which, 
in  other  ways,  drew  a  straight  line 
through  the  natives'  lives,  dividing 
what  they  might  from  what  they 
might  not  do,  —  the  old  Jewish 
"  Thou  shalt  not "  come  down 
through  the  ages  and  intensified  a 
thousand  times  in  this  heathen  for- 
mula "  It  is  Taboo." 

But  Aloha's  words  were  plainly 
evasive. 

"  It  is  only  a  custom,"  she  would 
say.  "  Let  not  the  White  God  be 
angry."  And  the  Priest,  unsatisfied, 
would  return  again  and  again  to  this 
subject,  leading  to  it  by  different 
ways. 

40 


An  Island  God 

"  And  what  would  happen,"  he 
said  one  day  to  Aloha,  "  if  a  man  or 
woman  should  break  this  Taboo  ?  " 

"  I  have  told  thee,"  she  said 
softly. 

"Aye,  death,"  said  the  Priest,  bit- 
terly, "  it  is  the  only  punishment 
your  people  know ;  but  in  what 
manner  and  when  ?  " 

But  Aloha  made  no  sound.  The 
Priest's  eyes  travelled  slowly  over 
the  long  reach  of  sea  where  he  had 
been  gazing,  back  up  the  white 
beach  and  grass-covered  hill,  and 
rested  on  Aloha.  She  was  sitting 
doubled  almost  in  a  half-circle,  her 
fingers  clasped  upon  her  shins,  and 
her  head  bent  over  on  her  breast  and 
hidden  by  her  hair. 

A  few  minutes  the  Priest  looked, 
and  the  hard  lines  of  his  care-marked 
face  were  soft  and  kind  with  com- 
passion ;  then  he  stretched  out  his 
41 


An  Island  God 

arm,  until  his  hand  rested   on  her 
shoulder. 

"You  have  not  answered,  my 
child." 

"  They  come  in  the  night,"  Aloha 
said,  at  last. 

«  Who  ? " 

"The  Kahuna." 

"  And  is  the  Taboo-breaker  always 
killed  ?  " 

«  Yes." 

"  But  no  harm  has  befallen  you," 
said  the  Priest ;  "  and  surely  you 
were  heard  to  speak  —  hast  for- 
gotten the  face  in  the  door  ? " 

"I  am  a  chief's  daughter,"  and 
the  girl  looked  up  with  a  toss  of  her 
head  that  sent  the  long  hair  rippling 
across  her  shoulders. 

"  Then  do  you  go  free  —  " 

"  No,"  she  broke  in  petulantly. 
"It  is  Taboo  to  me— to  all/' 

"Then  why,"  began  the  Priest, 
42 


An  Island  God 

but  he  did  not  finish ;  Aloha  was 
sulkily  tearing  grass-roots  out  of 
the  ground. 

A  heavy  quiet  settled  upon  them, 
.intensified  at  times  by  a  lazy  chirp 
or  the  breaker's  distant  hum. 

"  Aloha,"  the  Priest  said  suddenly 
and  sternly,  "  who  was  the  man  at 
the  door?" 

But  Aloha  would  not  hear. 

Again  the  words  came  clear  and 
slow. 

"  Who  was  he  that  looked  in  at 
the  door?" 

"  Ae  !  "  she  answered  mockingly, 
"  as  thou  art  a  god,  thou  shouldst 
know  all  things." 

And  then  her  face  paled,  and, 
frightened  at  her  temerity,  she  ran 
quickly  down  the  hill. 


43 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  LITTLE  more  than  ten 
miles  from  the  native  village, 
and  extending  in  the  direction  of 
the  greatest  length  of  land,  ran  a 
great  wall  of  mountains  which 
roughly  divided  the  island  in  half. 
For  more  than  forty  miles,  this 
bristling  ridge  of  sharp-pointed 
peaks  cut  a  jagged  line  across  the 
clear,  blue  sky  and  then  descended, 
with  many  a  defiant  spire  and  sweep 
and  upreared  crest,  down  into  the 
waiting,  outstretched  arms  of  the 
ocean.  On  the  north  side  of  the 
island,  this  great  barrier  fell  in  one 
sheer  mass  of  cliff,  for  some  2,000 
feet,  varying  in  places  like  the  pales 
of  a  stockade,  to  the  plain  below; 

44 


An  Island  God 

but  to  the  south,  the  land  sloped 
more  gradually  down,  running  to 
the  shore  in  deep  valleys  and  high, 
knife-like  ridges,  that  sometimes  cut 
far  out  into  the  sea. 

Not  far  from  the  native  town 
stood  one  of  these  mountain  ridges. 
Steep,  bare,  and  brown,  it  rose  from 
the  water,  walling  in  the  view  for 
many  miles  inland,  and  forming  the 
eastern  end  of  a  long  curving  bay. 
Half-way  around  the  seaward  side 
of  this  shaly  cliff,  and,  perhaps,  a 
hundred  feet  up,  is  a  small  rock 
projection  which  looks  out  on  a 
great  stretch  of  sea. 

And  here  the  Priest  came  every 
day.  For  an  hour,  he  would  re- 
main, praying,  and  watching  the 
horizon  for  a  sail. 

But  this  morning,  when  he 
reached  the  small  rock  platform, 
the  Priest  neither  stopped  nor 
45 


An  Island  God 

looked  seaward.  Aloha's  words  of 
scarce  an  hour  ago  still  sounded  in 
his  ears.  Grieved  and  sad,  more  than 
he  cared  to  think,  he  had  followed 
her  down  the  mountain  and  betaken 
himself  to  his  watch-post  on  the  cliff. 

But  his  mind  would  not  settle 
to  prayer  or  meditation.  A  kind 
of  stupor  held  his  soul ;  dulled  by 
the  long  wear  of  solitude  and  baf- 
fled hope,  the  bright  light  of  his 
faith  refused  to  shine  within  him, 
and  his  mind  wandered  to  and  fro 
in  a  black  mire  of  fruitless  and  de- 
spairing thought. 

The  old,  half-answered  questions 
were  again  upon  him,  only  now 
there  were  new  mysteries.  This 
strange  girl  —  what  reason  was  there 
for  her  behavior?  She  saved  him, 
but  she  would  not  answer  him ; 
she  mocked  him,  and  yet  she  was 
afraid  of  him. 

46 


An  Island  God 

And,  mechanically,  the  Priest 
stumbled  on. 

But,  suddenly,  as  he  scraped  along 
against  the  rough,  pebbly  side  of  the 
cliff,  his  foot  slipped,  and  instantly 
he  was  sliding  rapidly  in  the  centre 
of  a  little  river  of  falling  gravel 
toward  an  edge  of  the  cliff  which 
here  went  straight  down,  two  hun- 
dred feet,  to  the  sea.  With  a  great 
effort,  the  Priest  struggled  loose 
from  the  slipping  soil,  and,  digging 
his  hands  and  toes  into  the  treacher- 
ous dirt,  gained  a  slight  but  stable 
foothold  not  far  above  the  rock 
platform. 

But  he  could  no  longer  go  back 
nor  even  downward.  The  rushing 
gravel  had  swept  all  traces  of  path 
or  foothold  away.  On  all  sides,  a 
loose,  precipitous  plain  of  shale 
sloped  straight  to  the  foaming  reef 
below,  and  only  the  little  clump  of 
47 


An  Island  God 

half- withered  brush  where  the  Priest 
stood,  broke  the  smooth  roof-like 
level  of  yellow  sand.  But  just 
above  the  Priest's  head,  and  to  the 
left,  an  almost  imperceptible  out- 
crop of  rock  ran  upward  and  out- 
ward around  the  seaward  face  of 
the  cliff. 

Slowly  and  with  infinite  care,  the 
Priest  drew  himself  up  on  this  little 
shelf  of  rock.  Whether  it  led  to 
the  other  side  of  the  ridge  and  to 
a  safe  descent,  the  Priest  could  not 
see.  But  it  was  his  only  road, 
whether  to  life  or  to  death,  and, 
patiently,  he  crawled  on. 

Stones  broke  loose  and  rolled  to 
the  bottom ;  the  rock  crumbled 
under  him.  At  times,  lying  like 
a  lizard,  his  body  pressed  flat  to 
the  slippery  stone,  he  thought  his 
last  breath  was  come. 

But  he  did  not  flinch.     All  de- 


An  Island  God 

pression,  all  despair  had  left  him. 
Once  more  the  brave  light  of  his 
faith  burned  triumphant  within  him  ; 
and,  nerved  by  the  stern  challenge 
of  real  danger,  with  calm  eye  and 
steady  hand,  the  Priest  pressed 
forward. 

And  now,  as  the  Priest  crept 
out  against  the  great  wall  of  cliff 
that  breasted  the  ocean,  the  ledge 
broadened. 

Little  by  little,  it  became  more 
regular,  flat,  and  firm.  Soon  this 
narrow,  precarious  shelf  had  turned 
into  a  good,  wide  path  which  led 
to  the  other  side  of  the  ridge,  where 
it  ran,  a  thin,  brown  streak,  winding 
down  through  many  green  plateaux 
to  the  shore. 

Never    before     had     the     Priest 

come   upon    the   little   valley    that 

opened  out  before  him.     Deep  and 

inaccessible    it    lay,   walled    in    by 

49 


An  Island  God 

steep,  grass-patched  ridges.  But 
now,  as  the  Priest  passed  rapidly 
along,  he  thought  he  saw,  far  down 
near  the  beach,  a  great  gathering  of 
people.  Larger  and  larger,  the 
black  specks  grew,  and  soon  he 
could  see  plainly  numberless  empty 
canoes  inside  the  reef. 

The  Priest's  heart  gave  a  mighty 
throb ;  for  a  second,  the  blood 
stopped,  and  then  swept  like  a  tide 
through  the  arteries.  Quickly,  he 
looked  to  the  sun.  It  was  half-way 
above  the  horizon.  There  will  be 
one  mystery  the  less,  the  Priest 
thought  grimly,  and  he  hastened 
on. 

Now  he  was  come  almost  to  the 
bottom.  For  the  last  half  mile,  his 
way  had  lain  in  a  bush-grown 
gully ;  but  suddenly  the  path 
made  a  sharp  turn,  and,  pushing 
through  the  brush,  the  Priest 
5° 


An  Island  God 

stepped  out  on  the  top  of  a  huge 
hillside  bowlder. 

And  there,  at  his  feet,  was  a 
strange  scene. 

From  the  base  of  the  rock  to  the 
edge  of  the  water,  the  land  sloped 
gradually  down  ;  and,  covering  this 
space,  like  an  incoming  tide,  was  a 
great  sea  of  kneeling  men  and 
women.  From  right  to  left,  count- 
less rows  of  natives  stretched, 
in  always  lengthening  half-circles, 
towards  the  beach,  and,  in  all  this 
vast  assembly,  no  head  was  raised 
above  the  ground. 

Wonder-struck,  the  Priest  stood. 
But  no  sound,  no  motion  drew  his 
eye.  Above,  in  the  trees,  the  wind 
was  purring  softly,  and,  below,  the 
sun  gleamed  dully  on  a  plain  of 
bending,  oily  backs. 

Suddenly  a  voice  broke  the  still- 
ness.    In  a  high,  quavering  mono- 
Si 


An  Island  God 

tone,  it  rose,  keeping  time  to  some 
strange  rhythm.  And  the  Priest 
saw  a  low  heap  of  rock  hardly  thirty 
feet  away,  from  whence  the  voice 
seemed  to  come. 

In  a  high,  twanging  cadence  the 
chant  kept  on. 

Minutes  passed. 

The  great  mass  of  humanity  was 
slowly  swaying  back  and  forth. 

Faster  and  faster,  the  voice  came. 
Quicker  and  quicker,  bent  the 
bodies. 

The  chant  stopped. 

With  one  long,  even  movement, 
the  vast  sea  of  grovelling  natives 
rose  up ;  for  a  moment,  their  faces 
showed  in  the  sun,  and  then,  with 
a  dull  jar,  that  shook  the  trees,  they 
fell  to  the  ground. 

Once,  twice,  this  great  wave  rose 
and  fell.  But  the  third  time,  it 
stopped,  as  if  transfixed,  and  re- 
52 


An  Island  God 

mained  erect  —  line  on  line  of  wild, 
excited  faces  staring  at  the  bowlder. 

There,  his  hands  clinched  and 
his  head  thrust  forward,  stood  th« 
Priest. 

A  low,  hoarse  sound  travelled 
down  the  foremost  row  of  natives. 
Louder  and  louder,  it  grew,  spread 
ing  from  the  front,  back,  and,  in 
a  minute,  all  fear  of  the  "  Taboo  " 
was  lost  in  the  terror  of  the  un- 
known. 

"  The  White  God  !  "  "  The  Raiser 
of  the  Dead!  "  "  E  Moe  O  !  "  «  Be- 
ware !  "  "  Beware  /  "  they  cried. 

And,  in  a  frenzy  of  fear  and  su- 
perstition, the  terrified  mob  strug- 
gled and  fought  madly  with  one 
another,  in  their  haste  to  reach  the 
shore. 

But  the  Priest  hardly  saw  them. 
All  his  Spanish  intolerance,  all  the 
fierce  fanaticism  of  his  church  was 
53 


An  Island  God 

on  fire  within  him.  With  set  jaw 
and  livid  eye,  the  Priest  sprang  from 
the  rock  and  rushed  to  the  heap  of 
stones.  Fiercely  he  scattered  the 
stones,  and  seized  the  carved  log  of 
Ohia  wood  which  stood  propped  up 
among  them.  Down  on  the  ground, 
the  Priest  smashed  it,  rolling  its 
ghastly,  obscene  lines  in  the  dust. 

But,  even  as  the  Priest  stood 
there,  breathing  quick  and  hard,  a 
huge  native  rose  up  from  behind  him. 
Over  the  Priest's  shoulder  leaned  a 
black,  hairy  face  whose  every  feature 
worked  with  rage  and  hate. 

The  Priest  turned  slowly. 

It  was  the  man  of  the  door. 

"  Devil,"  the  native  hissed,  "  I 
will  kill  thee." 

A  narrow  streak  of  light  shone 
between  the  clinched  fingers,  as  the 
man's  arm  leaped  forward. 

Down  the  Priest's  side,  trickled  a 
54 


An  Island  God 

thin  stream  of  blood,  reddening  the 
clothes. 

"  He  is  no  god  I  "  «  He  bleeds  I " 
"  He  bleeds  !  "  shrieked  the  huge 
native. 

"Seize  him!"  "Bind  him!" 
"  Away  with  him  /"  he  cried  again, 
and  the  shrill,  nasal  voice  cut  far 
down  the  glade,  over  the  heads  of 
the  fleeing  crowd  and  out  to  the 
sea  beyond. 

But  no  man  heeded.  The  mad 
rush  stayed  not  one  instant. 

A  wild  fury  seized  the  native ;  his 
limbs  trembled,  froth  gathered  upon 
his  lips. 

But  before  he  could  move,  the 
Priest  stepped  forward.  Like  chis- 
elled marble  was  his  calm,  bloodless 
face.  But  the  eyes  of  the  Jesuit 
were  terrible  to  see ;  a  mighty 
power,  a  faith  divine,  the  soul  itself, 
was  there. 

55 


An  Island  God 

Face  to  face,  one  moment,  they 
stood,  then,  like  a  helpless  child, 
the  tall,  raging  islander  gave  slowly 
back. 

But,  as  the  Priest  passed,  the  na- 
tive^ tongue  at  last  found  words. 

"  Ae,  wait  !  "  he  cried  in  baffled 
rage,  "  wait,  thou  dog  !  Wait  till 
the  first  night  of  the  full  moon  !  I 
will  tear  thee  to  pieces  on  the  sacred 
stone,  thou  lover  of  women,  thou 
defiler  of  altars!" 

But  the  Priest  neither  answered 
nor  looked  behind.  Quickly  he 
walked  to  the  shore  and  entered  a 
deserted  canoe. 

Night  had  come.  A  black  void 
shrouded  the  palms,  and  great  clouds 
blotted  out  the  stars.  In  deep,  over- 
hanging shadow  crouched  the  moun- 
tains, waiting,  waiting,  ever  waiting. 

No  leaf  moved.  The  wind  was 
56 


An   Island  God 

dead.  And  ever  and  anon,  through 
the  still  air,  rolled  the  low,  mutter- 
ing boom  of  the  great  reef. 

Blacker    and    blacker    grew    the 
heavens.     Silent  and  uneasy  was  the 
'air. 

Something  moved ;  there  rose  a 
gurgling  sound,  a  groan. 

A  horror  unspeakable  was  prowl- 
ing afoot ! 

Through  the  dim  morning  light, 
tall,  gaunt  forms  crept  noiselessly 
away.  And  when  the  sun  rose,  of 
all  the  dark-skinned  men  and  women 
who  that  noon  had  seen  the  white 
Priest  roll  the  hideous,  grinning  idol 
in  the  dust,  not  one  remained  alive. 


57 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  bright  light  that  came 
through  the  door  of  the 
Priest's  hut  suddenly  ceased.  A 
black  outline  appeared  in  a  round 
hole-like  opening,  and  a  woman 
entered.  It  was  Aloha. 

For  two  days  the  Priest  had  lain 
sick  and  delirious  on  his  mat  in  the 
hut.  Borne  up  by  the  strange  force 
that  the  wild  scene  of  idol  worship 
had  awakened  within  him,  he  had 
paddled  swiftly  and  recklessly  around 
the  point  and  across  the  white, 
tumbling  line  of  reef  to  the  shore. 

But   in  the  very   doorway  of  his 

hut,   a  broad  stream  of  blood   had 

burst  like  a  millrace  from  his  side, 

and,  without  a  word  or  groan,  the 

58 


An  Island  God 

Priest    had    fallen    senseless    to  the 
ground. 

Rigid  and  lifeless,  Aloha  had 
found  him,  his  spare  form  stretched 
in  a  pool  of  half-dried  blood.  For 
hours,  she  had  labored  over  him, 
cleansing  his  white,  cold  skin  of  the 
dirt  and  bloody  grime,  and  binding 
up  the  long,  ragged  cut  in  his  side. 
And  heT  face  was  drawn  and  gray, 
and  she  worked  with  an  energy 
born  of  despair. 

At  last  the  Priest  had  stirred, 
turning  slightly  to  one  side.  Then 
followed  a  day  and  a  night  of  de- 
lirium, when  the  Priest  had  raved 
and  flung  himself  about,  vand  Aloha 
with  chattering  teeth  had  brought 
him  water. 

But  on  the  dawn  of  a  second  day 
the  mad  whirl  of  words  had  ceased 
to   pour  from   his  tongue,  and  the 
Priest  slept  quietly. 
59 


An  Island  God 

And  now,  as  Aloha  entered  the 
hut,  the  dim,  recumbent  figure  on 
the  mat  moved  slightly,  and  a  weak 
but  steady  voice  came  to  her  ear. 

"  Where  am  I,  Aloha,  and  what 
has  happened  ? " 

"  I  do  not  know/'  she  said 
simply. 

The  Priest  tossed  restlessly.  He 
was  groping  blindly  in  a  hazy  past. 
Little  by  little,  the  mist  cleared  away, 
and  he  remembered. 

"And  you  have  taken  care  of 
me,"  the  Priest  said  softly. 

With  a  great  sob,  Aloha  sank  on 
her  knees  beside  him. 

"  Will  the  White  God  forgive  me? 
Will  he  die  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  forgave,  where  there  is 
no  wrong ;  and  I  am  only  weak  flesh 
and  blood,  like  you,  my  child." 
The  Priest's  face  shone  for  an  in- 
stant with  a  rare  and  kindly  smile; 
60 


An  Island  God 

but  his  strength  was  gone,  and  his 
head  fell  back  on  the  mat. 

But  not  for  long  could  weakness 
overpower  him.  With  a  vigor 
superhuman,  he  fought  the  feeble- 
ness of  his  body,  and  when  Aloha 
came  the  next  morning,  the  Priest 
was  seated  in  the  corner,  his  elbows 
braced  against  the  wall. 

"  Oh,  thy  wound  !  "  she  cried. 

"  It  is  nothing,  but  give  this  to 
your  friend  of  the  black  cloth.  He 
has  left  it  with  me,"  and  the  Priest 
held  up  a  small  dagger  whose  white 
bone  blade  was  marked  with  dirt 
and  blood. 

The  face  of  the  girl  contorted  in 
a  sudden  fury.  All  her  beauty,  all 
the  softness  of  the  minute  before 
were  lost  in  the  wild  rush  of  pas- 
sion. Her  features  were  puckered 
and  ugly. 

"  I  hate  him  !  " 
61 


An  Island  God 

"Hate  not,"  said  the  Priest, 
sternly.  Then  he  raised  his  arm, 
and  his  voice  was  calm  and  gentle. 

"  Sit  there,  my  child,  and  answer 
me.'* 

And  still  shaking  with  anger, 
Aloha  obeyed. 

"  Now  tell  me  what  your  people 
would  do  with  me,  when  it  comes 
the  time  of  the  full  moon  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  nothing,"  Aloha 
moaned. 

"Nay,  child,"  said  the  Priest, 
«  speak  truly." 

"  They  would  kill  me,"  the  Priest 
went  on.  "  But  I  fear  them  not. 
The  Lord  has  work  for  me  to  do." 

Aloha  had  risen. 

"  He  would  have  them  kill  you," 
she  cried,  her  face  pale.  "  But  he 
dare  not  touch  you.  No,  not  for 
all  his  prayers  and  sorcery.  It  is 
Taboo." 

62 


An  Island  God 

And  in  a  vague  and  troubled  way 
Aloha  told  the  Priest  of  the  doubts 
of  her  people.  They  knew  not  if 
the  Priest  were  god  or  devil,  and 
whether  his  coming  would  bring 
them  good  or  harm.  Even  the 
sacred  men,  the  sorcerers,  who  told 
the  thoughts  of  the  gods,  were 
silent  and  gave  the  people  no  sign. 

And  all  the  while  the  fear  of 
Kamehameha  hung,  like  a  shadow, 
over  the  land. 

But  there  was  one,  as  the  Priest 
knew,  who  worked  his  destruction  ; 
and  this  one,  even  now,  strove  to 
call  together  the  secret  counsel  of 
the  Kahuna,  whose  will  is  the  will 
of  the  fire  and  the  water  and  the 
earth  and  the  sky. 

"  And  is  my  enemy  then  so  pow- 
erful ?  "  said  the  Priest. 

"  Ae !  "  cried  Aloha,  bitterly,  "  his 
hand  is  heavy  and  stained  with  blood. 


An  Island  God 

A  quick  spasm  passed  on  the 
Priest's  face. 

"  Have  care,  my  child,  have  care 
that  I  bring  you  not  into  trouble." 

"  He  would  not  harm  me,"  said 
Aloha.  "He  —  he— "  but  the 
words  choked  in  her  throat. 

And,  always,  Aloha  would  tell 
the  Priest  to  fear  no  harm.  "  The 
King  is  gone,"  she  would  say.  "  He 
is  far  off;  and,  until  he  comes,  not 
even  they  may  touch  thee." 

Days  went  by,  and  the  Priest 
grew  stronger.  But  the  wound 
healed  little,  remaining  raw  and 
angry,  and  the  color  came  not  back 
to  his  face. 

Long  hours  the  Priest  spent  in 
the  doorway,  gazing  at  the  sea ; 
and  often  his  sunken  eyes  would 
brighten  with  a  fierce,  feverish  glow 
of  determination,  and  he  would  rise 
and  stagger  feebly  around  the  hut. 
64 


An  Island  God 

And,  in  these  moods,  he  felt 
neither  pain  nor  weakness.  A 
great  wave  of  strength  would  rise 
and  surge  within  him,  and  the  mind 
had  but  to  command  and  the  body 
obeyed. 

Sometimes  the  Priest  lay  on  the 
mat,  too  weak  to  speak.  Then 
Aloha  would  sit  and  watch  in  the 
shadow  of  the  door,  silent  and  wait- 
ing for  his  smallest  words. 

And  slowly  the  thin,  white  cres- 
cent which  shone  with  pale  splendor 
in  the  evening  sky  grew  large  and 
round. 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER   IX 

LIKE  a  great  celestial  lamp,  the 
round,  swollen  moon  hung 
over  the  island,  and  reef  and  cliff  and 
huts  and  trees  glistened  like  silver 
in  its  white,  tropical  glare. 

During  the  whole  day,  an  un- 
broken quiet  had  prevailed  through- 
out the  island.  No  sound  had  come 
from  bird  or  beast,  and  the  natives 
had  not  stirred  from  their  houses. 

But  when  the  long  afternoon  had 
melted  into  twilight,  and  the  grim 
twilight,  all  lurid  and  red,  like  a 
forest  fire,  had  sunk  behind  the 
mountains,  there  came  a  change. 
A  wave  of  life  stirred  the  air.  Black 
huts  poured  forth  little  streams  of 
black,  silent  people,  and  vague, 
crouching  forms  stole  rapidly  be- 
66 


An  Island  God 

tween  the  palms.  Inch  by  inch, 
the  great,  gleaming  disk  rose  from 
out  of  the  trees,  and  at  last  its 
bright,  searching  light  shone  unin- 
terruptedly down  on  the  roofs  of 
the  long,  straggling  native  village 
which  ran  like  a  silver  thread  to 
the  sea.  Through  all  its  winding 
length,  this  moonlit,  primitive  street 
was  deserted  ;  but  on  every  side,  in 
and  out  among  the  trees,  there  rose 
the  low  buzzing  murmur  of  a  wait- 
ing multitude. 

And  now,  just  as  the  moon 
reached  the  centre  of  its  circle 
across  the  heavens,  there  came  from 
out  of  the  black  doorway  of  the 
King's  great,  grass  house,  a  long 
train  of  men.  Tall  and  gaunt,  they 
were,  naked  to  the  loins,  and  on 
each  native's  head  and  shoulders 
was  a  short  cloth  hood  which  partly 
hid  the  face. 

67 


An  Island  God 

Swiftly  and  sinuously,  like  a 
snake,  this  dark,  rippling  line  of 
men  twisted  in  and  out  among  the 
huts.  And  wherever  it  went,  the 
hum  of  whispering  voices  ceased, 
and  no  sound  arose  until  the 
sombre  procession  had  passed. 

Through  the  village,  these  swift, 
stealthy  natives  passed,  and  their 
way  was  towards  the  sea.  Again 
through  the  village  they  came,  but 
their  faces  were  towards  the  moun- 
tain, and  in  their  centre  strode  the 
Jesuit  monk. 

A  short  distance  inland  from  the 
village  there  rose  from  the  centre 
of  the  valley,  like  a  bowlder  in  a 
stream,  a  huge,  circular  hill.  High 
in  the  air  it  towered  its  steep, 
rampart-like  crest,  frowning  grim  and 
dark  against  the  white  curtain  of 
cloud  and  moonlit  sky. 

Up  its  bare,  rocky  sides,  over 
68 


An  Island  God 

great  blocks  of  pumice  and  volcanic 
stone,  went  the  band  of  natives. 
And  calmly,  silently,  with  no  slack- 
ening nor  pause,  the  Priest  followed. 
But  from  his  face  dropped  the 
sweat  of  bitter  toil,  and  his  bandaged 
side  was  wet  with  blood. 

But  through  all  this  weird,  phan- 
tasmagoric happening,  the  Priest 
gave  slight  heed  to  the  things  around 
him.  In  a  deep  abstraction,  he 
moved,  seeing  little.  Even  now, 
as  he  drew  nearer,  step  by  step,  to 
the  doom  which  his  enemy  had 
foretold,  he  did  not  think  of  his 
fate.  A  great  emotion  worked 
upon  him  ;  a  great  struggle  swayed 
his  heart.  And,  always,  a  woman's 
form  was  before  his  eye,  and  a 
woman's  voice  was  in  his  ear. 

Higher  and  higher  climbed  the 
shadowy  band,  and  slowly  the 
island  opened  out  in  dim,  vague 
69 


An  Island  God 

outline  beneath  them.  Now  the 
foremost  native  had  reached  the 
crest  of  the  hill.  For  a  minute  he 
paused,  his  tall,  naked  figure  sil- 
houetted against  the  sky,  then,  with 
a  hoarse,  low  cry,  he  fell  to  his 
knees,  bowed  his  head  to  the 
ground,  and,  rising,  passed  rapidly 
on. 

One  by  one,  in  this  manner,  the 
leading  natives  prostrated  them- 
selves ;  and  when  the  Priest  reached 
the  brow  of  the  hill,  he  saw  before 
him  a  small  level  space  where  were 
many  men.  In  the  short,  thin 
grass  they  sat,  their  knees  doubled 
under  them,  and  on  every  side 
their  lines  extended  covering  the 
top  of  the  hill.  But  in  the  centre 
of  the  plateau,  the  land  sloped 
gently  upward  in  a  small  mound, 
and  was  vacant ;  and  here,  high  above 
all,  stood  a  great  stone.  Rudely 
70 


An  Island  God 

carved,  it  was,  and  hollowed  and 
fashioned  in  the  form  of  a  chair ; 
and  in  this  giant  seat  sat  a  tall 
native,  cowled  and  wrapped  in  a 
long  black  robe. 

Swiftly  the  Priest's  guards  passed 
through  the  silent,  motionless  as- 
sembly to  the  mound.  At  the 
base  of  the  rock  they  halted ;  the 
dark  figure  above  made  a  sign,  and 
they  filed  off  to  one  side,  leaving 
the  Priest  gazing  upward  at  the 
same  fierce  eyes  and  scowling, 
distorted  face  that  he  had  seen  so 
closely  once  before. 

The  silence  was  unbroken.  No 
native  moved.  Rapidly  the  moon 
was  sinking  below  the  hill,  and 
upon  all  this  scene  of  mufHed, 
waiting  men,  the  blackness  of  night 
had  fallen.  Only  the  high,  throne- 
like  rock  still  showed  clear  in  the 
dying  light,  and  against  its  white 


An  Island  God 

side,  in  sharp  relief,  was  the  erect, 
spare  form  of  the  Priest,  motionless 
as  marble,  as  he  looked  upward  to 
the  grim,  crouching  figure  above. 

Then,  at  last,  when  the  darkness 
had  hidden  the  Priest  and  had 
crept  up  to  his  very  feet,  the  huge 
islander  arose. 

In  vast  menacing  shadow,  he 
loomed  above  the  rock. 

"  Chiefs,  Sooth-tellers,  all  ye  wise 
men  of  Ohau,"  he  cried,  "  ye  are 
met  to  judge  upon  this  evil  devil 
who  hath  come  to  our  shore.  From 
afar  he  hath  come,  for  he  is  hated  of 
all  the  gods,  who  have  driven  him 
across  the  sea.  He  hath  defiled  our 
altars.  He  hath  cursed  our  land. 
Among  our  people  he  hath  gone, 
and  they  have  become  possessed 
with  a  devil  and  broken  the  law, 
and  they  have  died.  Is  it  then 
your  will,  O  ye  wise  men,  beloved 
72 


An  Island  God 

of  Kani  and  Kora  and  Pele  and  Zo, 
that  this  wicked  one  shall  die  ?  " 

A  deep,  hoarse  cry  broke  from  a 
hundred  throats.  To  their  feet 
sprang  the  long,  dark  lines.  But  the 
eager,  staring  eyes  that  peered  from 
out  of  fierce,  cowled  faces  rested 
neither  on  the  wild,  gesticulating 
native  on  the  top  of  the  rock  nor 
on  the  silent,  waiting  figure  below. 

Out  on  the  black  line  of  sea  there 
gleamed  a  light.  It  came;  it  went. 
Suddenly  there  leaped  up  in  the  far- 
distant  darkness  a  great  pillar  of 
fire. 

For  a  space  it  remained,  and  then 
it  was  gone. 

And  now  there  came,  faintly 
sounding  from  the  land  below,  a 
strange  moaning  noise.  Louder  and 
clearer  it  swelled  through  the  still 
night  air.  A  weird,  aching  cry,  it 
was,  —  a  wail  of  fear  and  of  grief.  It 
73 


An  Island  God 

was  as  if  a  whole  people  groaned 
aloud. 

And  silent  stood  the  mighty 
Kahuna,  turned  to  stone  by  wonder 
and  fear. 

Suddenly  there  appeared  from  be- 
hind the  brow  of  the  hill  a  naked, 
dirt-stained  native.  Straight  to- 
wards the  high  rock  he  ran,  and,  as 
he  came,  he  waved  his  arms  and 
cried,  "  Oh,  woe  !  Oh,  woe  !  The 
King  is  dead  !  " 

A  fierce  storm  of  cries  filled  the 
air,  but,  high  above  the  din,  rose  the 
piercing  voice  of  the  runner. 

"  Listen,  listen,  O  ye  wise  men, 
listen,  listen,  ye  rulers  of  Ohau. 
Oh,  woe  to  ye,  oh,  woe  to  the  land  ! 
Kamehameha  and  the  gods  of  fire 
hath  slain  our  King.  With  fire  they 
have  devoured  him  and  all  his  army. 
And  now  Kamehameha's  canoes 
cover  the  sea.  He  comes !  He 
74 


An  Island  God 

comes !       And     Kalanikupule      is 
dead ! " 

"  You  lie,  you  dog,  you  lie  !  "  a 
deep  voice  bellowed  from  the  crest  of 
the  hill ;  and,  swifter  than  the  words, 
a  spear  cleft  its  way  through  the  air. 
The  runner  fell  dead. 

In  a  minute  there  stood  by  the 
stone  a  short,  broad  figure.  His 
naked  body  was  covered  with  dirt, 
and  hair,  still  wet,  straggled  down 
over  the  black,  puffy  face.  But  the 
straight,  proud  carriage  was  that  of 
command,  and  the  little  beady  eyes 
glared  with  the  fierce  light  of  anger 
and  pitiless  wrath. 

Instantly  the  wild  outcry  ceased. 
Black  robes  bent  low  to  the  ground. 
It  was  the  King. 

"  And  who  is  this? "  Kalanikupule 

cried,  pointing  upwards  to  the  seat 

cut  in  the  stone.     "  Who  is  he  that 

dare  sit  in  the  great  counsel  seat? 

75 


An  Island  God 

And  so  he  would  give  ye  the  law, 
and  have  ye  told  that  I  am  dead. 
Let  him  be  taken  on  the  morrow, 
with  this  other  captive,  to  the  Pali ; 
and  see  ye  that  there  be  many 
another  to  go  with  them,  for  the 
gods  are  angry  and  their  hands  are 
lifted  to  smite  us." 

Thus  spoke  the  King,  and  once 
more  a  long  file  of  men  picked  its 
stealthy  way  down  the  hillside. 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER  X 

IN  vague  and  misty  shadow 
stretched  the  curving  line  of 
shore.  Calmly,  noiselessly,  the 
sullen  ocean  surged,  —  a  vast  glassy 
plain,  —  and  far  out  the  white  line 
of  reef  showed  like  a  cloud  in  the 
dim  gray  of  the  morning. 

Dark  was  the  eastern  sky;  no 
light  had  come  ;  and  back  and  forth, 
like  phantoms  of  the  night,  tall, 
armed  natives  strode  in  ceaseless 
prowl  around  a  hut.  In  the  low, 
black  doorway,  the  Priest  sat :  his 
head  rested  against  his  hand,  his 
elbow  on  the  knee ;  and,  without 
motion  nor  flicker  of  eyelid,  the 
sleepless  eyes  stared  seaward  into 
the  gloom. 

77 


An  Island  God 

Slowly,  the  minutes  went  by  ;  but 
he  did  not  stir.  A  faint  gleam,  as 
of  fog,  appeared  in  the  air.  Day- 
light was  creeping  on. 

And  now  a  low,  spasmodic  sound 
came  filtering  up  through  the  moist, 
heavy  air  in  the  hut,  —  a  soft  tick, 
a  crackling  grass  ;  it  might  have  been 
the  wind. 

Quicker  and  louder  the  sound 
came.  Suddenly  it  stopped.  A 
small  hair-covered  head  pushed 
through  a  hole  in  the  grass  wall  of 
the  hut.  Slowly,  and  with  unceas- 
ing care,  a  lithe  body  wriggled  noise- 
lessly inward.  A  slim  figure  crept 
across  the  floor.  A  low  hiss  rose 
to  the  Priest's  ear,  and  a  soft 
hand  touched  his  foot.  The  Priest 
turned. 

"Aloha!" 

"  Sh,"  she  breathed. 

"  My  child,  my  child,"  the  Priest 
78 


An  Island  God 

gasped,  and  he  groped  with  his 
hands  until  they  touched  her  head. 

"  I  have  come  for  thee,"  she 
whispered,  her  face  pressed  close  to 
his  side. 

The  Priest's  breath  came  quick 
and  hard. 

"  Ae,  thou  needst  not  die,"  she 
went  on  ; "  my  father's  tribe  is  strong 
in  the  land ;  and  many  are  those  who 
would  help  me,  even  here,"  and 
Aloha  pointed  through  the  door. 

"  But  where  would  you  go  ;  what 
could  you  do  ?  "  The  Priest's  voice 
sounded  strange  and  broken. 

"  To  the  Puuhonua.  My  peo- 
ple will  help  ;  and,  once  there,  neither 
King  nor  sorcerer  may  touch  us. 
But  fear  not,"  Aloha  cried,  her  soft, 
rippling  voice  rising  with  the  hope 
that  leaped,  buoyant,  in  her  heart, 
"  Kalanikupule  will  reign  no  more. 
Already  hath  the  great  Kamehameha 
79 


An  Island  God 

defeated  him  in  the  island  of  Maui, 
and  driven  him  home  by  night,  like 
a  cowering  dog.  And  now  Kame- 
hameha  comes  and  will  slay  him. 
But  my  people  shall  not  war  against 
the  great  King.  With  presents, 
they  shall  go  to  him  ;  and  thou  shalt 
lead  them  and  prevail  over  the  bit- 
ter wrath  of  the  conqueror,  so  that 
they  be  not  harmed." 

"  Then  will  your  tribe  rise  against 
their  King,  and  cast  their  lot  with 
me,  paying  heed  to  my  words,  that 
I  may  help  them  both  against  them- 
selves and  against  Kamehameha  ?  " 

"Ae,  but  thou  must  first  swear 
to  serve  the  gods,  —  not  thy  gods, 
but  our  gods ;  and,  also,  thou  must 
take  a  wife." 

"  And  who  would  they  have  me 
take  ?  "  he  cried  bitterly. 

But  Aloha  answered  not.    Slowly 
the  dim  light  brightened,   and  the 
80 


An  Island  God 

long    shadows     grew    shorter    and 
shorter. 

Once,  twice,  her  lips  moved  ;  then, 
with  a  low  cry,  she  leaned  toward 
the  silent,  waiting  figure,  whose  thin 
white  hand  trembled  in  the  cold, 
morning  air. 

"  Even  me,"  she  murmured. 

A  great  shudder  passed  through 
the  frail  body. 

"Aloha,"  said  the  Priest,  while 
his  head  bowed  forward  over  his 
breast,  "  I  have  sworn  a  great  oath  ; 
and,"  his  head  sank  lower,  "  I  may 
not  marry." 

"  But,"  Aloha  cried  passionately, 
"  I  cannot  help  thee  then,  and  they 
will  torture  thee,  ae,  even  on  the 
altar,  side  by  side  with  the  sacred 
hog  and  Kalanikupule's  enemies,  will 
they  roast  thee." 

"Woman,  I  am  in  the  hands  of 
my  God." 

6  8l 


An  Island  God 

cc  God  or  devil,"  she  cried,  mis- 
taking his  meaning,  "  I  love  thee." 

But  the  Priest  turned  sadly  and 
slowly  from  her,  and  his  face  was 
drawn  and  wrinkled  like  that  of  an 
old  man. 

With  a  cry  of  despair,  Aloha 
flung  her  arms  around  the  Priest's 
knees  ;  sobbing  and  kissing  his  feet, 
she  clung  to  him.  At  last  the 
Priest  bent  downward,  and  his  lips 
touched  her  hair.  The  light  of  a 
great  joy,  the  fire  of  a  noble  triumph, 
hardly  fought  and  hardly  won, 
glowed  like  a  torch  in  his  eyes. 
Tenderly  he  kissed  her. 

"  Now  you  must  leave  me,  my 
own  one,  for  it  is  fitting,  and  I  would 
be  alone/* 

Calmly,    steadily,    Aloha  rose  to 

her  feet.     One  last  minute  her  eyes 

rested  on  him  who  sat  before  her. 

Then    her    face    hardened,    like   a 

82 


An  Island  God 

mould,  and,  staring  straight  before 
her,  Aloha  passed  through  the  door, 
and  out  past  the  guards,  heeding 
them  not,  nor  stopping. 

And  far  in  the  east  the  dawn  lay 
bright  on  the  rim  of  the  ocean. 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  morning  came,  bright  and 
clear.  Beautiful  and  peace- 
ful the  island  lay,  its  green,  wet 
slopes  and  waving  trees  shimmering 
in  the  sun.  And  no  sounds,  nor 
smoke,  nor  unwonted  activity  dis- 
turbed the  quiet  scene. 

But  in  the  night  many  a  swift  and 
dusty  runner  had  passed  to  and  from 
the  King's  great  grass  house,  and 
now,  all  over  the  land,  grim,  deter- 
mined warriors  waited  for  the  word. 
And  from  every  cliff,  from  every 
mountain,  hundreds  of  watchers 
scanned  the  sea. 

Steadily  the  sun  rose  into  the 
heavens.  Almost  it  had  reached 
its  zenith,  when  there  arose  from 
84 


An  Island  God 

the  watchers  on  the  high  cliff  near 
the  shore  village  a  long,  loud  cry. 
Again  it  rose,  but  this  time  down 
on  the  shore.  A  minute  later,  a 
faint  echo  had  come  from  the  ridge 
beyond,  and  the  wild  refrain  was 
caught  up  by  a  thousand  voices. 
Up  hill,  over  steep  ridges,  down 
through  black,  half-hidden  valleys, 
across  the  mountains,  across  the 
plain,  borne  on  the  wind,  now 
faintly  sounding,  now  swelling  to  a 
roar,  but  never  slacking,  never 
ceasing,  the  great  cry  travelled. 
Kamehameha  had  come. 

Out  on  the  wide  stretch  of  spark- 
ling sea,  far  beyond  the  reef,  black 
specks  danced  up  and  down  on  the 
water.  Like  myriad  insects,  they 
dotted  the  ocean.  Nearer,  nearer, 
they  came,  growing  large.  The 
foremost  now  had  reached  the  reef. 
Narrow  and  deep  it  was,  a  boat 
85 


An  Island  God 

filled  with  men  ;  and,  as  it  rose  on 
the  mighty  surge  of  the  rollers,  a 
long  line  of  paddles  flashed  in  the 
sun,  and  outlined  against  the  reef 
were  the  black,  swaying  backs  of 
warriors  and  the  giant  outrigger  of 
a  huge  war  canoe. 

Swiftly  to  the  shore  they  sped ; 
and  hardly  had  the  great  boat 
reached  the  shallow  water,  when  a 
native  leaped  out,  spear  in  hand. 
Tall  and  broad  he  was,  of  enor- 
mous girth  and  frame.  His  head  was 
great  and  massive ;  a  broad,  white 
scar  seamed  the  dark,  intelligent 
face.  And  over  the  huge  arms  and 
shoulders,  a  red  robe  fell  to  the 
knees. 

Behind  him,  quickly  followed  a 
short,  stout  man.  Brown  and 
freckled  though  his  skin  was,  it  had 
once  been  white,  and  the  wide,  top- 
pling gait  and  the  careless,  though 
86 


An  Island  God 

sharp  glance  of  the  blue,  Caucasian 
eyes  proclaimed  the  sailor. 

With  a  quick,  imperial  sweep  of 
his  arm,  Kamehameha  turned  upon 
his  follower. 

"  The  dogs  are  hiding,"  he  cried, 
in  a  deep,  growling  voice  that  rolled 
and  roared  from  out  of  the  tremen- 
ous  chest  as  if  from  a  cavern. 

"  But  I  will  find  them,  and  see 
thee,  Yun,  as  thou  callest  thyself, 
that  thy  great  beast  of  fire  be  made 
ready,  for,  by  the  morrow,  I  shall 
feed  his  flaming  throat  with  men." 

"Aye,  that  he  will,"  the  sailor 
muttered,  and  he  looked  out  over 
the  endless  perspective  of  canoes,  and 
along  the  shore,  which  was  already 
dark  with  landing  warriors. 

Then  he  turned  and  walked  slowly 

across  the  beach    to   where  a  little 

group  of  sun-tanned  mariners  were 

vainly    struggling  to   land   a    small 

87 


An  Island  God 

but  heavy  cannon  through  the  high, 
leaping  surf. 

All  day  long,  the  great  army  dis- 
embarked, and  when  the  last  soft 
gleam  of  golden  and  purple  light  had 
faded  from  the  sky,  thousands  of 
camp-fires  glowed  like  phosphores- 
cent insects  in  the  night.  In  the 
centre  of  this  vast  field  of  twinkling 
lights,  a  huge  fire  flared  high  in  the 
black  air,  eclipsing  in  magnitude  all 
its  surrounding  brethren,  as  the 
moon  eclipses  the  stars. 

Not  far  from  the  broad  circle  of 
light  thrown  out  by  this  tall  pillar 
of  flame  stood  a  low,  but  long 
grass  house  which  the  work  of 
thousands  of  natives  had  built  in  the 
short  space  between  sun  up  and 
sun  down  for  the  shelter  of  Kame- 
hameha,  the  high  chiefs,  and  the 
sorcerers,  and  the  royal  court. 

Of  vast  extent  was  this  war-time 
88 


An  Island  God 

palace,  broad  as  the  length  of  many 
hundred  spears,  and  stretching  back 
into  the  darkness  as  far  as  eye 
could  see.  A  high,  wide  door 
faced  upon  the  fire,  protected  and 
screened  from  the  rain  and  the  sun 
by  a  massy,  projecting  thatch 
whereon,  under  the  flickering  rays, 
three  polished  skulls  stared  and 
grinned  at  one  another  in  ghastly 
sympathy. 

And  here,  looming  large  and 
awesome  under  this  forbidding  por- 
tal, their  faces  half  in  shadow,  half 
in  light,  two  men  stood  talking. 

"Aye,  she  is  still  with  him," 
said  the  short  one,  in  a  tongue 
whose  rasping  sound  smote  harshly 
upon  the  quiet  night  air. 

"  And  a  pretty  place,  it  is,  where 
every  comely  wench  seeks  out  the 
big  black  pigs  in  the  poke,  and  will 
not  abide  with  honest  men,"  was 


An  Island  God 

the  low,  hoarse  rejoinder  in  the  same 
language. 

The  short  man  swayed  slightly^ 
shuffling  his  feet,  and  laughed,  —  a 
low,  dry  chuckle. 

"Aye,  Thomas,  she  would  have 
none  of  thee.  But  look'e  here, 
mate,"  after  a  pause ;  "  a  queer 
thing 's  come  down  the  wind.  I 
was  with  his  big  ribs,  yonder  when 
the  lass  came  in.  Not  so  much  as 
a  look  or  a  '  howdy '  would  she 
give  me,  but  straight  she  goes  to 
the  King  and  spins  a  yarn.  And 
a  strange  reckoning  she  made  of 


it." 


"  And  what  was  that  ?  " 

"  I  could  n't  make  much  out  of 
it,  long  end  nor  short  end,  she 
talked  that  quick,  like  one  of  them 
gabbling  birds.  But  there  was 
somebody  that  them  niggers  here 
was  to  kill.  And  she  talked  about 
90 


An  Island  God 

that  he  was  a  god,  and  made  dead 
people  alive.  And  she  tells  the 
King  how  they  put  our  coming 
down  to  the  god,  and  was  to  kill 
him  on  an  altar  in  the  middle  of 
the  battle,  if  their  craft  started  to 
founder.  And  so  she  says  how 
she'll  show  the  King  a  way  to 
catch  all  these  black  men  here, 
like  rats  in  a  box,  if  he'd  come 
with  some  warriors  and  save  the 
god." 

"  He '11  do  it,  d'y  think?" 

"  Aye ;  he  told  me  to  be  ready, 
and  he  sent  me  out  while  she  spoke 
of  the  way." 

"He'll  keep  ye  out,  Young,  a 
long  while  yet,  ye  may  make  sure," 
the  seaman  growled. 

But  the  other  paid  no  heed. 

"  She  said  the  thing  had  a  white 
skin,"  he  mumbled. 

Suddenly  he   broke  forth,  "  But 
91 


An  Island  God 

look'e  here,  d'y  see,  if  he  was  a 
white  man,  where  'd  he  come  from, 
and  if  he  was  a  god,  why  could  n't 
he  save  himself? " 

And,  mumbling   and    cogitating, 
Young  walked  out  into  the  night. 

Hardly  had  his  stout,  swaying 
figure  disappeared  in  the  darkness, 
than  there  came  from  within  the 
door  passage-way  of  the  rude 
palace,  where  Thomas  still  stood 
sulkily  musing,  the  low  hum  of 
subdued  voices  and  the  light  patter 
of  dancing  feet.  Back  in  the 
shadow  the  sailor  shrank,  and  in  a 
breath  there  passed  before  him  a 
long  train  of  hurrying  native  girls. 
Out  into  the  circle  of  light  they 
went,  tripping  and  dancing.  High 
in  the  firelight  flashed  their  naked 
arms,  as  they  swung  and  rapped 
their  calabashes,  and,  at  each  deft- 
some  tap,  the  round,  unsightly, 
92 


An  Island  God 

wooden  bowl  gave  forth  a  hollow, 
murmuring  sound. 

And  now  there  appeared  on  the 
edges  of  this  bright  space,  where 
the  firelight  met  and  battled  with 
the  shadow,  a  wide  and  ever-deep- 
ening circle  of  fierce,  excited  faces. 
Broad,  strong  warriors  they  were, 
their  oily,  shining  chests  leaning 
against  their  planted  spears,  come, 
as  was  their  privilege,  to  see  the 
great  battle-rite  to  Laka,  —  the 
dance  of  love  and  of  death. 

Under  the  gloomy  portal  stood 
the  high  chiefs,  towering  above  the 
tallest,  grim  and  battle-marked,  their 
white  teeth  gleaming  between  parted 
lips.  Over  against  them  were  the 
sorcerers,  their  long  robes  veiling 
their  faces  and  falling  to  the  ground  ; 
and  at  another  point,  isolated  from 
all,  a  little  group  of  whispering  sail- 
ors stood,  watching,  part  in  wonder, 
93 


An  Island  God 

part  in  scorn,  while  from  time  to 
time  their  deepest  passions  bubbled 
and  growled,  like  wakening  vol- 
canoes within  them.  And  here, 
gazing  with  the  rest,  were  Young 
and  Thomas. 

Faster  and  faster  the  lithe,  naked 
forms  flew  around  the  fire.  Now 
up,  now  down,  they  grovelled, 
they  wallowed  in  the  earth.  They 
danced,  they  contorted,  and  always 
faster  they  moved,  their  faces  work- 
ing in  a  frenzy. 

Wilder  and  more  furious  the 
mad  dance  grew.  Suddenly,  while 
it  raged,  a  slim  figure  passed  quickly 
out  through  the  palace  door,  be- 
tween the  staring,  stone-like  chiefs. 
Swiftly  she  sped  away;  but,  even 
as  she  ran,  the  sharp,  restless  eye 
of  a  mariner  had  seen  her.  He 
sprang  around  with  an  oath.  But 
he  was  too  late.  While  yet  Thomas 
94 


An  Island  God 

gazed,  she  disappeared  among  the 
trees.  And,  heeding  not  the  dance, 
swept,  like  a  ship  in  a  storm,  with 
choler  and  spite,  Thomas  turned 
on  Young. 

"  There  she  goes  —  off  by  her- 
self. And,  damme,  you  bottle- 
nosed,  bloody  imp,  d'y  make  sure 
that  ye  look  well  after  her  to- 


morrow." 


The  dance  was  growing  slower. 
Smaller  and  smaller  grew  the  rip- 
pling circles  of  women ;  shorter 
each  sweeping  movement ;  and, 
ever  and  anon,  a  tottering  figure 
would  sink  to  the  ground. 

Without  stir,  with  hardly  a  move- 
ment, the  watching  circle  melted 
into  the  night.  And  under  the 
flickering,  guarding  rays  of  the  fire 
lay  fair,  motionless  forms,  who 
would  never  rise  again. 

Brightly  the  fire  burned,  casting 
95 


An  Island  God 

defiance  up  to  the  heavens.     Hours 
passed.     Low,  under  the  black  man- 
tle of  night,  a  great  pile  of  embers 
gleamed  fitfully. 
The  island  slept. 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  night  neared  its  end. 
Gradually  the  cloud  of  dark- 
ness lifted  from  the  earth.  Foot 
by  foot,  up  through  the  trees,  but 
holding  still  many  a  grim,  hidden 
redoubt,  the  black  legion  retreated. 

Through  the  dark  gray  light  of 
the  sombre  monarch's  last  short 
hours,  a  small  band  of  natives  jour- 
neyed rapidly  along  the  crest  of  a 
high  mountain-ridge.  Far  below 
lay  a  valley  shrouded  in  gloom,  and 
walled  up  by  an  opposing  ridge 
whose  bare,  treeless  crest  showed 
a  thin,  brown  streak  rising  up 
through  the  sea  of  dense,  gray  air. 

Swiftly  the  little  band  hurried, 
always  guarding  carefully  two  cap- 
7  97 


An  Island  God 

tives  in  their  centre.  In  robes  of 
pure  white  cloth  the  prisoners  were 
wrapped,  and  their  hands  were 
bound  firmly  to  their  sides.  Straight 
in  front  their  faces  looked,  as  they 
strode  over  the  ever-ascending  path, 
and  no  word  passed  between  them. 

A  faint  light  tinged  the  eastern 
sky.  A  gleam  of  silver  showed 
far  off  on  the  dusky  line  of  sea. 
Imperceptibly  it  faded,  and  dark- 
ness closed  in  once  more. 

Again  a  dim  light  touched  the 
sky.  Suddenly,  like  a  flame,  a  fiery 
golden  spire  leapt  out  of  the  sea. 
Another  came,  and  another,  and  yet 
more.  The  whole  eastern  sky 
flamed  with  light.  The  day  had 
come. 

On  towards  the  interior  went  the 

natives,  and  the  long  ridges  sloped 

downward    into    a     radiant    ocean. 

Now  the  darkness  had  lifted  from 

98 


An  Island  God 

the  valley.  An  enormous  ravine  it 
was,  wide  but  yet  narrow,  for  the 
height  of  mountain  which  rose  011 
each  side  in  steep,  sloping  terraces, 
like  roofs  of  houses.  The  land  be- 
tween was  level  and  open  in  the  cen- 
tre where  ran  a  thread-like  stream. 
But  at  the  sides  of  the  valley,  run- 
ning to  the  very  foot  of  the  ridges, 
were  gullies,  and  here  there  grew  a 
rank  and  tangled  growth  of  ferns 
and  high  grasses,  with  here  and  there 
a  thick  clump  of  low-growing  Hau- 
trees,  whose  intertwined  and  serried 
branches  formed  both  the  stronghold 
and  the  hiding-place  of  all  who 
sought  their  shelter. 

From  the  height  above,  the  band 
of  warriors  and  captives  could  see 
the  valley,  as  it  stretched  in  its  long, 
straight  length  from  the  sea  up  into 
the  great  chain  of  mountains  towards 
which  they  were  journeying.  Gayly 
99 


An  Island  God 

the  little  stream  twinkled  in  the 
first,  stray  beams  of  the  rising  sun, 
and  everywhere  luxuriant  vegeta- 
tion shone  bright  with  dew. 

But  the  grim  warriors  gave  these 
things  scant  heed,  though  at  times 
their  sharp,  searching  eyes  stared 
steadily  at  the  banks  of  the  stream. 
And  there,  like  ants,  a  swarm  of 
black  specks  moved  busily  to  and 
fro.  Up  and  down  the  water-side 
and  around  the  thicket,  they  con- 
gregated,—  here,  closely  gathered; 
there,  few  and  scattered. 

For  minutes  at  a  time  one  of  the 
prisoners  would  gaze  intently  upon 
the  scene  below.  At  last,  his  thin, 
white  face  aglow  with  interest,  he 
turned  to  the  nearest  guard,  and 
for  the  first  time  spoke. 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  he  said. 

Then,  as  they  passed  around  a 
bowlder,  the  native  whispered, — 

TOO 


An  Island  God 

«  Kalanikupule." 

And  the  Priest  spoke  no  more. 

Higher  and  higher  the  rocky 
trail  led ;  but  now  the  valley  itself 
sloped  sharply  upward,  until  it  lay 
but  a  few  hundred  feet  below.  To 
right  and  left  stretched  a  great  wall 
of  mountains,  their  pointed  crests 
and  crags  standing  like  a  battlement 
against  the  sky.  Into  a  broad, 
deep  notch,  between  two  flanking 
peaks,  the  valley  ran,  and,  as  the 
path  twisted  around  a  spur  of  the 
westernmost  of  these  mighty  sen- 
tinels, the  Priest  saw  a  wonderful 
sight. 

Before  him  the  high  chain  of 
mountains  fell  sheer  down  in  one 
vast  precipice,  and,  to  his  side,  the 
smooth  sandstone  level  of  the  notch 
fronted  on  a  chasm  of  air  where  in 
the  distance  were  broad  plains,  a 
serrated  shore,  and  the  blue,  limit- 

IOI 


An  Island  God 

less  ocean.  No  pass  was  here ;  the 
valley  led  only  to  death. 

Another  turn  of  the  trail,  and  they 
were  out  upon  a  narrow  ledge  run- 
ning along  the  face  of  the  precipice. 
A  great  sea  of  air  was  beneath  them. 
For  two  thousand  feet  or  more  be- 
low, it  breezed  and  blew,  brushing 
by  in  little  waves  against  their  faces. 
Crumbling  and  more  slender  grew 
the  path,  now  scarce  two  hand's- 
breadths  wide. 

Without  warning,  in  a  second,  a 
terrible  revulsion  seized  the  Priest. 
The  blood  surged  to  his  head,  and 
strength,  courage,  will,  ebbed  swiftly 
away,  like  draining  water.  A  horri- 
ble loathing  of  life,  of  his  coming 
death,  of  everything,  swept  over 
him.  He  struggled ;  he  prayed ; 
sweat  came  from  every  pore.  In 
vain  he  looked  for  succor,  for  re- 
lief. On  one  side  rose  the  bare, 

102 


An  Island  God 

giant  wall ;  on  the  other,  the  land- 
scape lay  dim  in  the  sickening  dis- 
tance. 

A  finger  touched  his  shoulder. 

Turning,  he  saw  a  white  robe 
and  the  black,  evil  face  of  him  who 
had  been  his  judge,  —  condemner 
and  condemned. 

"  A  !  see  there  !  "  the  native  hissed. 
"  Thou  shalt  see  me  burn ;  but 
thou,  too,  shalt  burn,"  his  voice  fell 
lower,  "and  never  shalt  thou  see 
her." 

The  Priest  looked. 

There,  on  a  broad  rock  platform 
which  jutted  out  from  an  adjoining 
cliff,  stood  a  square  white  building. 
Brightly  it  gleamed  in  the  sun,  like 
an  ivory  temple.  But  as  the  Priest 
looked,  he  saw  that  the  walls  of  this 
fair,  shining  structure  were  made  of 
the  bones  and  skulls  of  men.  This 
was  to  be  his  tomb.  Involuntarily 
103 


An  Island  God 

his  figure  stiffened ;  the  light  came 
back  to  his  eyes.  Once  more  he 
was  a  pioneer  of  the  Church. 

And    he    fell    on  his    knees  and 
thanked  God. 


104 


An  Island  God 


CHAPTER  XIII 


was  activity  in  the 
JL  great  camp  by  the  shore. 
Since  daybreak,  thousands  of  war- 
riors had  been  busy,  sharpening 
spears  and  knife-edges  and  prepar- 
ing for  battle.  For  hours  the  high 
chiefs  had  been  mustering  and  sta- 
tioning their  men,  and  at  last,  as 
the  sun  neared  his  midday  post, 
the  great  army  set  out. 

In  long,  uneven  array  they 
marched  up  the  broad  valley  that 
led  inland  from  the  shore.  In 
front,  strode  the  great  Kamehameha, 
his  giant  form  towering  high  above 
all.  Behind  him,  on  his  right  and 
left,  were  his  two  trusted  lieutenants, 
Kamanawa  and  Keaweaheula.  Then 
105 


An  Island  God 

followed  the  company  of  seamen, 
dragging  a  cannon,  and  behind 
them  sixteen  thousand  spears  flashed 
and  glittered  in  the  sun,  as  the  long 
river  of  men  rose  and  fell  in  steady 
rhythmic  stride. 

On  up  the  valley  they  noise- 
lessly marched,  until  the  mountain 
ridges  drew  in  towards  them,  and 
only  the  occasional  laugh  and  jest 
of  the  sailors  broke  the  stillness  of 
the  air. 

As  the  head  of  the  glittering 
column  entered  the  broad,  ravine- 
like  defile  of  valley,  Kamehameha 
faced  about.  Up  rose  his  spear. 
A  swift  ripple  passed  rapidly  down 
the  swaying  ranks,  and  the  army 
halted. 

A  few,  short  words  from  the 
King,  and  the  long,  steel  serpent 
broke  quickly  into  three  sections. 

Up  over  the  western  ridge,  went 
106 


An  Island  God 

one  headed  by  Kamanawa ;  for  the 
eastern  ridge,  the  second  started, 
led  by  Keaweaheula ;  and  the  last 
and  greatest  of  the  three  marched 
straight  up  the  valley  with  the  band 
of  seamen  and  their  cannon  at  the 
head.  But  as  the  grim,  black  war- 
riors swarmed  rapidly  up  the  steep, 
western  slope,  a  little  detachment 
separated  from  their  front  and 
quickly  left  the  main  body  behind. 
On  over  the  path  where  the  foot- 
prints of  the  Priest  and  his  captives 
were  still  fresh  in  the  earth,  this 
advance  guard  hurried.  They  had 
hardly  gone  a  mile,  when  a  native 
girl  rose  from  behind  a  bowlder  on 
the  side  of  the  trail.  Straight  to 
the  huge,  commanding  figure  that 
strode  in  front  she  ran,  throwing 
herself  on  the  ground  beneath  his 
feet.  One  short  glance  he  gave 
her,  and  passed  on,  and  she  rose 
107 


An  Island  God 

and  followed,  lost  in  the  shadow  of 
his  mighty  bulk. 

A  mile  went  by,  and  the  valley 
had  grown  narrower.  Beneath, 
stretching  from  ridge  to  ridge,  long 
lines  of  black  specks  dotted  the 
earth.  In  and  around  the  thickets 
they  twisted,  now  showing  plain  in 
the  sunlight,  now  vanishing  in  the 
shadow ;  and  across  the  open  space 
and  on  the  banks  of  the  stream,  they 
were  huddled  in  a  great  mass,  so 
that  they  darkened  the  earth. 

Down  upon  them,  the  party 
gazed,  silent  and  absorbed.  Then 
Kamehameha  gave  a  great  shout. 

"Thou  hast  not  lied,  fair  one, 
and  even  as  the  King  hath  said, 
so  will  the  King  do." 

Kamehameha     stepped     towards 
Young,    who     with     Thomas     and 
another    seaman    stood    gazing   va- 
cantly up  and  down  the  valley. 
108 


An  Island  God 

"  Gettest  thou  back  to  thy  beast 
of  fire,  and  drive  thou  these  dogs 
up  the  valley  after  me,"  he  roared. 

Again  the  King  spoke,  and  two 
long-limbed  natives  sped  swiftly 
back  over  the  path.  A  minute 
Kamehameha  watched  them,  then 
turned. 

"  Forward  !  "  he  cried;  "  I  would 
save  this  god." 

Faster  and  more  quietly  than 
before  they  set  forth.  But  scarcely 
had  ten  minutes  passed,  when  the 
seaman  stumbled  noisily  upon  a 
stick.  With  a  jerk  he  recovered,  and 
catching  hold  of  Thomas  grumbled  : 

"  To  the  devil  with  these  wild 
chases !  and  I  see  not  but  y'r  brain 
was  full  of  bilge,  that  ye  ever  sweated 
to  ship  for  such  a  cruise." 

"  Aye,  ye  never  did  have  eyes," 
Thomas    answered,    and    he    edged 
still  closer  towards  the  King. 
109 


An  Island  God 

Now,  they  had  reached  the  broad 
notch  in  the  mountain  chain,  where 
the  valley  ended. 

From  far  behind,  down  the  val- 
ley, there  came  a  shrill,  indistinct 
noise  that  rose  and  fell  as  the  wind 
freshened  or  abated.  As  if  turned 
to  stone,  Kamehameha  halted  in 
his  stride,  gazing  backward  at  the 
dense  thicket,  with  burning  eyes. 
Fainter  and  fainter  grew  the  noise 
swallowed  up  by  the  distance. 
Then  suddenly,  echoing  and  rolling 
from  mountain  to  mountain,  there 
came  a  strange  and  awesome  sound. 
A  deep,  hollow  note  it  was,  low 
and  terrible,  as  if  from  the  very 
pit  of  death,  and  for  a  space  the 
earth  trembled.  Grovelling  on  the 
ground  with  their  faces  in  the  dust, 
the  common  warriors  lay.  Only 
Kamehameha,  Aloha,  and  the  sailors 
stood. 

no 


An  Island  God 

Once  more  the  shrill  noises  came 
up  the  valley,  growing  louder  and 
continuous.  Soon  there  rose  from 
the  thickets  in  the  distance  a  fierce 
hubbub,  —  shrieks,  cries,  groans, 
and  the  crash  of  flying  men. 

With  a  great  start,  Aloha 
grasped  the  King's  arm.  "  Come  ! 
Come ! "  she  gasped.  Her  throat 
was  parched  and  dry. 

Slowly,  mechanically,  Kame- 
hameha  followed  her,  and  she  led 
them  out  on  the  face  of  the  preci- 
pice, along  the  narrow  ledge.  On, 
on,  they  went,  the  noise  behind 
increasing  in  volume. 

"  There  !  "  Aloha  cried,  pointing 
to  a  high  white  structure,  set  on  a 
platform  of  rock,  from  whose  top 
rose  a  large  column  of  black,  sooty 
smoke. 

Quickly  Kamehameha  pressed 
forward,  gaining  in  a  few  steps  a 

I  TI 


An  Island  God 

deep  crevice  in  the  cliff,  on  whose 
broad,  level  floor,  the  white,  gleam- 
ing temple  looked  obliquely  down 
across  forty  feet  of  chasm. 

The  din  in  the  valley  was  ter- 
rible. Shrieks  of  agony,  fear, 
despair,  victorious  yells,  the  crunch- 
ing of  gravel,  and  ever  and  anon 
the  deep,  hollow  boom  of  the 
cannon  came  to  their  ears. 

"Young's  driving  them  over  the 
cliff,"  the  sailor  cried. 

"  Look  !  Look,"  yelled  Thomas. 
A  strong  whiff  of  wind  had  caught 
up  the  dense  pillar  of  smoke  and 
carried  it,  eddying  and  circling  off 
into  the  air. 

There,  beneath,  a  leaping  flame 
of  fire  running  up  his  side,  was  the 
motionless  body  and  head  of  a 
man. 

A  second  it  showed,  and  then 
the  smoke  closed  in  again.  . 

112 


An  Island  God 

"By  God!  He's  white!"  the 
sailor  yelled. 

But  no  one  answered.  On  the 
roof  of  the  temple  appeared  three 
warriors.  Deliberately  they  raised 
their  spears.  Secure  behind  the 
coping,  they  looked  at  the  intruders 
and  then  at  the  narrow  pass. 

"  Trapped!  "  Kamehameha  roared, 
and  with  a  spring,  he  seized  Aloha 
and  sent  her  spinning  out  toward 
eternity. 

Like  a  tiger,  Thomas  leapt  for- 
ward ;  on  the  very  edge,  he  seized 
her,  and  caught  her  up  in  strong, 
violent  embrace  to  his  breast. 

A  long  piercing  shriek  broke 
from  Aloha,  and  as  if  in  answer, 
there  came  a  rending  and  grinding 
of  stone  on  stone.  Out  from  the 
pillar  of  smoke  a  figure  sprang,  his 
body  bruised  and  charred  beyond 
recognition.  Down  before  him, 

8  113 


An  Island  God 

went  the  three  warriors,  like  logs  of 
wood,  and  with  a  mighty  leap,  he 
cleared  the  chasm. 

For  a  moment,  the  Priest  stood, 
naked  and  upright,  upon  the  brink, 
motionless  as  the  rock,  his  face 
working  with  terrible  and  impotent 
wrath. 

"  May  the  curse  — "  but  the 
words  stopped. 

His  breath  came  in  gusts,  quick 
and  hard. 

"  Aloha,"  he  gasped ;  and  then 
with  a  low,  hoarse  sound,  he  fell 
forward.  Quickly  they  bent  over 
him,  but  his  limbs  were  already 
rigid,  and  the  calm  of  a  great  peace 
had  settled  upon  his  face. 

"  Truly  he  was  a  god,"  said 
Kamehameha. 


114 


APPENDIX 


AN  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE 
HAWAIIAN  ISLANDS  FROM  THE 
EARLIEST  TIMES  TO  THE  PRE- 
SENT DAY 

BY  RALPH   FRANK  WOODWARD 
Professor  of  History,  Kamehameha  Institute,  Hawaii 


Appendix 


i 


FROM    EARLY    TIMES    TO    THE 
REIGN   OF  KAMEHAMEHA  I 

THE  Hawaiian  Islands  are  twenty- 
one  hundred  miles  southwest  of 
San  Francisco,  and  are  therefore  just 
barely  within  the  torrid  zone.  Begin- 
ning at  the  north  with  minute  rocky 
points,  the  islands  are  strung  along  for 
six  hundred  miles  southeasterly  in  a 
curving  line,  constantly  increasing  in 
size,  until  the  last  one  on  the  south 
(Hawaii)  nearly  reaches  the  size  of  Con- 
necticut. As  they  were  all  thrown  up 
by  volcanoes,  they  are  like  Jamaica  in 
structure,  in  that  they  all  have  a  central 
rib  of  green,  forest-covered  mountains, 
and  low,  rich  plains  along  the  coast. 
117 


An  Island  God 

The  climate  is  one  of  the  most  won- 
derful in  the  world.  Although  the 
islands  are  in  the  same  latitude  as  Cuba, 
their  climate  averages  ten  degrees  cooler, 
partly  on  account  of  the  trade-winds,  and 
partly  on  account  of  the  ocean  current 
from  Behring  Sea.  Frequent  rains  in- 
vigorate the  vegetation. 

The  natives,  who  call  themselves 
Hawaiians,  belong  to  the  vast  Malay 
family,  which,  with  very  little  variation, 
inhabit  all  the  Pacific  islands  from  the 
American  coast-line  as  far  as  Madagas- 
car. Through  all  this  great  extent,  the 
Malay  race  exhibits  the  same  character- 
istics :  they  are  large  in  body,  of  great 
strength  and  endurance  ;  they  have  black 
eyes,  straight  black  hair,  and  plump, 
dark-brown  faces  with  features  quite  like 
the  Caucasian,  which  indicate  the  high 
grade  of  intelligence  they  possess.  In 
fact,  their  minds  are  so  superior  to 
those  of  the  native  Australians  as 
would  seem  to  prove  a  different  origin. 
Although  the  question  of  Malaysian 
118 


An   Island  God 

origin  has  not  been  fully  settled,  it  is 
certain  that  Samoa  was  the  centre  of 
dispersion  for  the  Pacific  group.  Recent 
comparisons  of  the  different  Polynesian 
languages  show  remarkable  similarities 
throughout,  and  suggest  Samoa  as  the 
parent  land.  In  trying  to  look  beyond 
Samoa,  scholars  have  not  been  able  to 
locate  any  more  definite  point  of  origin 
than  somewhere  between  Hindostan  and 
Palestine. 

According  to  Judge  Fornander,  *  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  were  first  settled 
about  500  A.D.,  and  a  second  and  much 
larger  migration  occurred  at  about  the 
twelfth  century,  when  New  Zealand 
was  first  inhabited.  From  this  time 
until  Captain  Cook's  landing,  Hawaii 
had  no  intercourse  with  the  outer  world, 
and  it  was  during  these  centuries  that 
their  political  conditions  became  fixed. 

In  all   respects,  the   political   state  of 

Hawaii  at   the   time  of  Captain   Cook's 

discovery  was  very  similar  to  the  feudal 

1  Forna. 

119 


An  Island  God 

system  which  dominated  Europe  at  the 
same  time,  and  which  was  eradicated 
in  Germany  only  a  few  years  before  its 
disappearance  in  Hawaii.  The  essence 
of  the  feudal  system  was  that  the  citizen 
existed  for  the  State ;  while  the  idea  of 
democracy  is  that  the  State  exists  for 
the  people.  This  idea  of  the  utter 
absorption  of  the  individual  and  of  all 
his  rights  protruded  from  every  mediae- 
val custom.  In  this  regard,  Hawaii 
closely  resembled  Europe. 

In  France,  for  example,  all  of  the  land, 
which  was  then,  before  the  development 
of  commerce  and  the  rise  of  the  guild 
merchant,  almost  the  only  form  of  wealth, 
belonged  to  the  king,  and  was  held  in 
fief  by  vassals  of  the  crown,  who  again 
sublet  parts  of  it  to  lower  vassals. 
Rents  were  paid  by  labor  and  produce. 
Every  man  was  then  under  homage  to 
some  lord  above  him,  to  whom  he  gave 
military  service  in  exchange  for  protec- 
tion. There  were  three  orders  or 
estates :  the  nobles,  the  clergy,  and  the 
1 20 


An  Island  God 

commons,  or  third  estate.  Even  to-day 
in  England  the  lords  and  clergy  occupy 
the  House  of  Lords  and  the  commons  the 
Lower  House. 

In  Hawaii  a  very  close  parallel  to  feu- 
dalism existed.  There  were  the  three 
estates,  —  the  nobles,  including  the  kings 
and  chiefs ;  the  clergy  or  Kahuna,  includ- 
ing priests  and  doctors ;  and  the  common- 
ers or  laboring  people.  Like  Achilles  and 
jEneas  of  Homeric  times,  the  chiefs  were 
supposed  to  be  descended  from  the  gods, 
their  office  was  of  a  sacred  character;  and 
just  as  no  commoner  could  ever  rise  to 
the  priestly  office,  so  no  chief  could  ever 
be  degraded.  To  the  highest,  or  sacred 
chiefs  such  divine  honors  were  paid  that 
for  a  common  man  to  remain  standing  at 
the  mention  of  a  King's  name,  to  enter 
the  King's  house,  or  even  go  in  its  shadow, 
meant  immediate  death. 

The  u  Kahunas,"  or  sorcerers,  in  many 

ways   might  be  likened  to  the  mediaeval 

a  Second    Estate."     Just   as   the  monks 

and  clergy  guided  and  deluded  the  igno- 

121 


An  Island  God 

rant  populace  of  the  middle  ages,  so  these 
heathen  priests  held  complete  sway  over 
the  minds  of  their  wild,  warlike,  and 
fiercely  superstitious  people.  It  was  they 
who  formulated  the  system  of  "  Taboo,'* 
and  their  power  rivalled  that  of  the  King. 
In  addition  to  the  common  people,  there 
was  a  lower  order  of  serfs,  or  bond-slaves, 
similar  in  status  to  the  serfs  of  Europe. 

Land  and  every  other  form  of  property 
belonged  to  the  King,  who  allowed  the 
people  to  use  it  in  return  for  labor  and 
taxes.  Alexander  says,  "  The  common 
people  had  nothing  which  they  could  call 
absolutely  their  own."  Taxes  were  paid 
in  kind.  There  was  not  only  the  royal 
tax,  and  countless  other  taxes  of  less  im- 
portance, but  there  were  all  sorts  of  public 
labor,  like  the  PVench  corvee,  required  of 
the  people. 

Owing  to  the  warm  climate,  such  a 
thing  as  home  was  almost  unknown. 
Marriage  relations  were  so  loose,  that 
although  the  rulers  were  usually  men, 
still  descent  was  traced  and  could  be 
122 


An  Island  God 

traced  only  through  the  woman.  In  this 
respect  Hawaiian  law  differed  from  feu- 
dal law,  for  while,  under  the  latter,  rank 
descended  from  the  father,  under  the 
former  it  descended  from  the  mother. 

In  religion,  the  Hawaiians  were  idola- 
ters. These  idols  were  media  of  commu- 
nication with  the  various  great  gods  who 
dwelt  in  the  spirit.  Worship  was  offered 
in  grass  temples,  in  which  were  sacred 
altars,  upon  which  the  priests,  or  Kahunas, 
left  offerings  to  moulder  away.  The 
ancient  right  of  sanctuary  (the  Puuhonua), 
celebrated  in  the  classics,  existed  in  many 
temples,  and  offered  the  wrong-doer,  the 
taboo-breaker,  the  murderer,  safety  from 
his  pursuers,  whose  only  punishment  was 
death. 

The  taboo  system  was  a  feature  of 
Polynesian  religion  in  which  ceremony 
had  a  much  greater  sway  over  the  people 
than  the  peace  of  God,  the  bans  and 
anathemas  of  the  ancient  Roman  Church. 
Life  was  hedged  in  every  hour  and 
minute  by  rites  and  laws,  for  whose  vio- 
123 


An  Island  God 

lation  the  penalty  was  death.  It  was 
taboo,  or  forbidden,  for  men  and  women 
to  eat  together,  for  women  to  eat  certain 
articles,  such  as  pork  and  bananas ;  and  at 
certain  times  no  sound  could  be  uttered, 
and  even  all  animals  were  confined  in 
deathly  quiet. 

This  political  system  existed  from  its 
formation,  in  the  early  Christian  centu- 
ries, until  the  landing  of  white  men,  from 
1778  onward,  gradually  modified  and 
at  last  destroyed  it.  Previous  to  1778, 
very  little  occurred  that  is  worth  atten- 
tion here.  In  spite  of  frequent  attempts 
by  different  powerful  chiefs  to  conquer 
the  islands  and  bring  them  under  one 
rule,  each  island  still  preserved  its  sepa- 
rate king  and  government.  Of  this 
period  Judge  Fornander  says,  "  It  was 
an  era  of  strife,  dynastic  ambitions, 
internal  and  external  wars,  with  all 
their  injurious  results  of  anarchy,  de- 
population, social  and  intellectual  degra- 
dation, loss  of  liberty,  loss  of  knowledge, 
and  of  arts."  In  spite  of  this,  the 
124 


An  Island  God 

coming  of  white  men,  which  changed 
some  of  these  things,  was  not  an  entire 
blessing. 

As  the  story  suggests,  the  first  discov- 
erers of  the  islands  were  undoubtedly 
Spaniards,  who  occupied  the  Pacific  for 
several  centuries.  As  early  as  the  six- 
teenth century,  there  is  clear  proof  of 
the  discovery  of  these  islands  by  a  fleet 
sent  out  by  Cortez,  and  there  are  sug- 
gestions of  other  visits  by  white  men 
from  time  to  time.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  Lower  California  was  discov- 
ered at  about  the  same  time  (1534)  by 
Ximenes,  and  that  the  Jesuit  mission- 
aries settled  there  in  1683.  Upper 
California  was  discovered  later;  and  it 
was  not  until  1768,  when  the  young 
Prince  Kamehameha  I.  was  distinguish- 
ing himself  as  a  brave  warrior  under  his 
uncle  Kalaniopuu  in  Hawaii,  that  Father 
Serra  explored  the  harbor  of  San  Diego, 
and  founded  there  the  first  mission  in 
California.  Later,  he  and  his  followers 
explored  the  coast  to  the  northward,  and 
125 


An  Island  God 

in  1776,  not  long  before  the  conquest 
of  Hawaii  by  Kamehameha  I.,  founded 
the  mission  dedicated  to  the  patron  saint 
of  the  Gray  Friars,  San  Francisco.  It  is 
not  at  all  improbable,  judging  by  the 
records,  that  more  than  one  Spanish  ves- 
sel passed  Hawaii  at  about  this  time. 

One  of  the  chief  events  in  the  history 
of  the  islands  was  their  discovery  by 
Captain  Cook,  then  on  an  exploring 
tour  to  find  a  northwest  passage  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  It  was  he 
who  brought  the  islands  into  contact 
with  the  world  and  opened  up  the  islands 
to  the  civilization  which  they  have 
eagerly  adopted.  In  sailing  due  north- 
ward on  his  third  tour  around  the  world, 
on  the  1 8th  of  January,  1778,  Captain 
Cook  discovered  one  of  the  middle  is- 
lands,—  the  island  of  Oahu.  He  landed 
at  Waimea,  Kauai,  and  was  received 
by  the  natives  as  a  god.  After  spending 
a  few  days  in  bartering  iron  —  a  precious 
metal  to  the  natives  —  for  fowls,  meat, 
and  fruits,  and  after  leaving  ashore 
126 


An  Island  God 

goats,  hogs,  and  English  seeds,  he  con- 
tinued northward  on  his  voyage.  The 
natives  were  greatly  mystified  by  their 
strange  visitors,  and  the  majority  re- 
garded them  as  gods.  As  Alexander 
relates,  "When  the  natives  saw  the 
sailors,  smoking  and  eating  watermelons, 
they  exclaimed,  '  Gods  indeed  !  They 
eat  the  flesh  of  men,  and  the  fire  burns 
in  their  mouths  !  ' 

After  failing  to  discover  a  northwest 
passage,  Captain  Cook  returned  to  spend 
the  winter  in  Hawaii,  which  he  then 
named  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  honor 
of  the  Earl  of  Sandwich,  who  supported 
the  expedition.  In  January,  1779,  he 
dropped  anchor  on  the  western  coast  of 
the  largest  island,  Hawaii,  in  a  small 
harbor  called  Kealakekua  Bay.  Here 
he  was  received  with  the  greatest  vener- 
ation, and  not  long  after  was  formally 
installed  as  the  incarnation  of  the  family 
guardian  and  rain-god,  Lono.  But 
friendly  relations  did  not  long  continue. 
The  debauchery  of  the  sailors  was  so 
127 


An  Island  God 

shameless,  and  their  violations  of  the 
taboo  and  of  religious  rites,  and  their 
thefts  were  so  unendurable  that  quarrels 
arose,  the  natives  began  to  steal  from  the 
ships,  and  on  the  I4th  of  February,  in 
attempting  to  entice  the  King  on  board 
in  retribution,  an  affray  occurred  in 
which  Captain  Cook  was  stabbed  and 
killed.  After  ravaging  the  coast,  the 
crew  left  and  never  returned,  leaving 
behind  many  destructive  diseases.  From 
this  time  on  many  vessels  visited  Hawaii 
and  a  new  era  began. 


128 


An  Island  God 


II 

FROM    KAMEHAMEHA   I.    TO 
THE    PRESENT 

IN  1780  different  kings  ruled  over  the 
various  islands,  and  the  largest 
island,  Hawaii,  was  divided  among  six 
or  eight  rulers.  One  of  the  youngest 
of  these,  a  nephew  of  the  late  King 
Kalaniopuu,  was  called  Kamehameha 
("  The  Lonely  One  "),  —  a  man  of 
striking  figure,  said  to  have  been  seven 
feet  and  a  half  tall,  and  of  masterful 
character.  By  clever  diplomacy  and 
bold  fighting,  this  chief  gradually  over- 
came the  island.  During  this  war, 
Kamehameha  had  a  stroke  of  good 
fortune  which  greatly  helped  him  to 
overcome  all  the  other  islands.  In  1790, 
an  American  fleet  under  Captain  Met- 
calf  visited  the  islands,  on  their  way  to 
9  129 


An  Island  God 

China.  By  strategy,  the  small  schooner 
"  Fair  American  "  was  captured,  all  the 
crew  killed  except  the  mate,  Davis,  and 
the  natives  secured  all  the  guns  and 
ammunition.  Next  day  the  natives  ab- 
ducted John  Young  of  the  "  Eleanor," 
whose  crew,  after  a  few  days'  search- 
ing, gave  up  hope  and  sailed  away. 
These  two  white  men,  Young  and 
Davis,  in  return  for  their  promotion 
to  the  rank  of  chief,  and  for  the  gift  of 
large  blocks  of  land,  served  FCamehameha 
well,  both  by  manning  the  small  cannon 
taken  from  the  ships,  and  by  training 
troops  and  giving  military  counsel.  The 
cannon  alone,  giving  out  awful  and  mys- 
terious flames,  were  almost  enough  to 
win  victories.  The  conquest  of  Hawaii, 
of  the  next  larger  island  on  the  north, 
called  Maui,  and  of  Molokai,  was 
quickly  and  easily  accomplished. 

During  this  time  the  great  sailor  and 

benefactor,  Vancouver,  landed  on  Hawaii, 

in  the  effort  to  make  peace ;  but  he  was 

surprised  to  find  the  natives  cold,  preoc- 

130 


An  Island  God 

cupied,  and  insatiable  thieves  of  iron  and 
weapons.  He  gave  Kamehameha  great 
aid  by  building  him  a  ship,  giving  him 
valuable  military  instruction,  and  telling 
him  of  the  Christian  religion. 

In  1795,  Kamehameha  undertook  the 
conquest  of  the  island  of  Oahu,  on  which 
the  story  is  laid,  and  which  contains  the 
present  metropolis,  Honolulu.  The  king 
of  Oahu,  Kalanikupule,  had  just  received 
a  few  English  guns  from  Captain  Brown, 
who  had  landed  at  Honolulu  in  the 
schooner  u  Jackal."  Kamehameha,  in 
planning  to  attack  Oahu,  raised  the  largest 
army  ever  seen  in  the  islands,  including 
about  16,000  men,  of  whom  sixteen  were 
foreigners  in  charge  of  his  cannons  and 
musketry.  It  is  said  that  his  war-canoes 
lined  the  shore  for  four  miles.  The 
decisive  battle  occurred  in  a  long  sloping 
valley  called  Nuuanu,  which  cuts  trans- 
versely, with  vertical  sides,  through  the 
mountains,  and  ends  in  a  steep  precipice 
called  the  Pali,  over  a  thousand  feet  high. 
The  army  of  Kalanikupule  fought  well, 


An  Island  God 

until  their  leader  was  killed  by  a  cannon- 
ball,  when  they  weakened,  and  those  who 
were  not  killed  were  driven  over  the 
precipice  to  death.  For  many  years  the 
bones  of  these  warriors  could  be  found 
in  heaps  below.  Soon  afterward,  the  only 
other  large  island,  Kauai,  gave  itself  up 
to  Kamehameha,  and  the  work  of  uniting 
the  islands  under  one  government  was 
completed. 

For  this,  Kamehameha  has  ever  since 
been  honored  by  his  people,  and  his 
statue  now  stands  before  the  judicial 
building  in  Honolulu  to  remind  his  race 

D 

of  one  who  might  almost  be  called  the 
father  of  his  country.  By  great  skill  and 
resource,  he  amalgamated  the  different 
factions  ;  and,  in  centralizing  the  govern- 
ment, in  a  few  years  did  what  it  required 
France  and  England  several  hundred 
years  to  do.  He  encouraged  agriculture 
and  suppressed  crime.  During  his  reign 
the  first  horses  were  brought  upon  the 
islands. 

The    closing    years    of    Kamehameha 
132 


An  Island  God 

were  marked  by  the  introduction  of  dis- 
tillation, by  the  opening  of  the  sandal- 
wood  trade,  and  by  visits  from  various 
American,  Russian,  and  Spanish  ships. 
In  1819,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  Kame- 
hameha  died. 

The  Kamehameha  dynasty  remained 
in  power  nearly  until  the  present  time. 
Under  Kamehameha  II.  the  most  impor- 
tant events  were  the  abolition  of  idolatry 
and  the  beginning  of  missionary  work  in 
Hawaii. 

Very  fortunately  for  the  missionaries, 
the  decaying  belief  in  idols  had  caused 
the  abolition  of  the  taboo  system  and  of 
idolatry  just  a  little  while  before  their 
landing,  and  had  left  the  people  open 
for  their  very  remarkable  reception  of 
Christianity. 

Boston  sent  the  first  missionaries,  in 
1819,  and  has  since  supplied  a  prepon- 
derating number  of  the  American  settlers. 
The  opening  of  Hawaii  to  missions  was 
accidental.  Several  Hawaiian  boys,  who 
had  doubtless  had  experience  in  sailing 


An  Island  God 

upon  the  small  island  vessels,  shipped 
upon  American  vessels,  and,  upon  reach- 
ing New  England,  attracted  wide  atten- 
tion. Soon  afterward,  a  brig  carried  the 
first  company  of  missionaries  to  Hawaii, 
and  since  then  there  has  been  a  constant 
growth  in  the  number  of  missionaries, 
many  of  whom  have  become  the  wealth- 
iest and  most  influential  people  in 
Hawaii. 

Under  the  reign  of  Kamehameha  II., 
who  was  an  extravagant  and  dissipated 
man,  Hawaii  suffered  greatly  from  exces- 
sive taxation.  However,  it  was  during 
his  reign  that  the  great  work  was  accom- 
plished, both  of  reducing  the  Hawaiian 
language  to  writing,  and  of  introducing 
the  art  of  printing.  Very  quickly  the 
arts  of  reading  and  writing  spread  abroad; 
and  to-day,  strangely  enough,  of  almost 
all  the  countries  in  the  world,  Hawaii 
has  the  smallest  percentage  of  illiterates. 
In  Alabama,  for  example,  fifty-one  per- 
cent cannot  read,  but  in  Hawaii  less 
than  one  tenth  are  so  ignorant.  The 
134 


An  Island  God 

English  language  rapidly  spread  also,  and 
the  native  nowadays  who  cannot  speak 
English  in  addition  to  his  own  language 
is  a  rare  man.  We  have  here,  in  fact, 
the  strange  sight  of  a  nation's  not  only 
giving  up  its  own  language  for  another 
language,  but  doing  it  willingly,  and  even 
yearning  for  the  foreign  tongue,  so  that 
now  English  is  the  official  language,  and 
is  taught  in  all  the  schools. 

In  1823,  Kamehameha  II.  visited 
England,  where,  after  receiving  great 
attention  from  the  King  and  nobles,  he 
died.  Next  year  the  Princess  Kapiolani 
did  the  brave  act  about  which  Long- 
fellow wrote  his  poem,  —  the  defiance 
of  the  goddess  Pele.  Pele  was  the  god- 
dess of  the  volcano  of  Kilauea,  which 
is  still  active,  is  the  largest  in  the  world, 
and  is  so  often  visited  by  tourists.  This 
goddess,  so  they  said,  killed  all  women 
who  approached  her  crater,  and  although 
Kapiolani  trembled  in  the  common  belief, 
still  she  went  up  to  the  crater's  edge, 
defied  Pele,  and  killed  the  superstition. 


An  Island  God 

During  this  time,  American  crews 
continually  disgraced  themselves  by  com- 
mitting the  most  inhuman  outrages,  and 
implanting  hatred  and  suspicion  in  place 
of  trustfulness.  The  census  reports  of 
1836  show  that  the  decrease  in  popula- 
tion was  alarming.  In  this  respect, 
civilization  has  not  benefited  Hawaii, 
for  the  population  has  been  steadily  de- 
creasing ever  since.  It  has  fallen  from 
130,000  natives  in  1830,  to  40,000  in 
1895.  In  1834,  the  first  newspaper 
appeared  in  Hawaii.  Now  there  are 
four  dailies  and  about  a  dozen  weeklies. 

After  1840,  feudal  ideas  in  govern- 
ment began  to  die  out,  and  gradually  the 
opinion  grew  that  the  people  as  well  as 
the  King  had  something  to  do  with  poli- 
tics. A  Declaration  of  Rights  was 
signed,  called  by  Alexander  the  "  Magna 
Charta  of  Hawaiian  freedom,"  and 
slowly  the  national  treasury  became  dif- 
ferentiated from  the  King's  private  in- 
come. But  not  until  a  few  years  ago 
did  the  crown  cease  to  confuse  the  two 
136 


An  Island  God 

to  a  small  extent  at  least.  Foreign  pow- 
ers now  formally  recognized  Hawaiian 
independence  ;  and,  to  add  to  the  grow- 
ing prosperity,  the  English  judicial 
system  was  thoroughly  adopted,  and  in 
1841  occurred  the  beginning  of  that  in- 
dustry which  has  made  Hawaii  one  of 
the  richest  countries  in  the  world,  —  the 
cultivation  of  sugar. 

The  gold  craze  in  California  drew 
away  many  young  men ;  but  the  sub- 
sequent development  of  that  rich  State 
opened  up  markets  and  expanded  Hawa- 
iian industries  as  the  growth  of  America 
had  expanded  England  a  century  be- 
fore. To-day  Hawaii  is  commercially 
almost  a  part  of  California.  In  the  midst 
of  this  growth  in  wealth,  a  misfortune 
befell  the  country  in  the  introduction 
of  leprosy.  Almost  at  once  the  govern- 
ment provided  a  leper  settlement  on  an 
unfrequented  island,  and  by  great  care 
has  been  able  to  keep  the  disease  under 
such  control  as  to  leave  white  settlers  no 
cause  for  fear. 

137 


An  Island  God 

Five  Kamehamehas  ruled  in  succes- 
sion, except  for  one  or  two  short  breaks, 
and  the  next  King  of  importance  was 
Kalakaua,  who  began  to  reign  in  1874. 
Two  years  later,  the  famous  American 
reciprocity  treaty,  admitting  free  Ha- 
waiian sugar,  amongst  other  things,  was 
signed.  Kalakaua  died  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  1891;  and  his  sister,  Liliuo- 
kalani,  the  regent,  at  once  took  the  oath. 
She  had  been  ruling  only  two  years 
when,  in  the  opinion  of  white  residents 
especially,  she  developed  dangerous  and 
very  obstinate  qualities.  A  suspicion 
spread  that  she  wished  to  admit  opium, 
and  to  license  the  Louisiana  Lottery, 
for  the  sake  of  revenue ;  and  when  she 
attempted  to  annul  the  constitution  ille- 
gally, and  to  establish  a  new  one  giving 
greater  power  to  the  throne,  the  whites 
arose  in  arms  and  overthrew  the  govern- 
ment. Many  people  have  accused 
America  of  aiding  the  revolution  by 
landing  the  marines  from  the  cruiser 
"  Boston ;  "  but  the  truth  is  that  no  such 

138 


An  Island  God 

design  existed.  The  marines  did  land, 
march  up  the  street  in  battle  array,  and 
encamp  near  the  executive  building ;  but 
their  object  was  only  to  protect  Ameri- 
can property.  Still  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  natives,  mistaking  the  purpose 
of  the  American  troops,  were  greatly  in- 
timidated by  their  presence.  The  Queen 
finally  signed  a  statement  that  she  ab- 
dicated willingly ;  but  she  has  since  been 
accused  of  trying  to  regain  the  throne. 

Since  the  overthrow,  a  new  constitu- 
tion, modelled  after  the  American  con- 
stitution, has  been  adopted  and  the 
government  officers  have  been  marked 
by  ability  and  efficiency.  President  Dole 
is  an  equable  and  far-sighted  man  whose 
administration  has  been  very  successful. 

In  1895,  Liliuokalani  appealed  to  the 
United  States  to  restore  her,  and  at  one 
time  President  Cleveland  was  on  the 
point  of  acceding.  He  ordered  the  pro- 
visional government  to  withdraw,  and  sent 
Commissioner  Blount  to  carry  out  his 
demands.  But  the  Hawaiian  government 
139 


An  Island  God 

prepared  to  resist,  and  finally  Cleveland 
withdrew  his  demands. 

In  1894,  the  royalist  party  laid  plans 
for  a  revolution,  in  hope  of  restoring  the 
Queen.  The  leaders  were  men  who  had 
been  prominent  in  the  days  of  royalty ; 
but  the  rank  and  file  in  this  movement 
were  of  a  very  inferior  class. 

Fowse  asserts  that  "  the  soldiers  of  the 
revolutionists  were  for  the  most  part 
dissolute  natives  enticed  by  liquor." 

The  war  lasted  less  than  two  weeks, 
January,  1895,  and  although  there  was 
great  excitement,  extensive  patrolling,  and 
many  demonstrations,  there  was  very 
little  bloodshed,  and  its  conclusion  left 
the  republic  stronger  than  ever. 

Troubles  from  without,  however, 
threaten  the  country.  The  great  number 
of  Japanese  —  who  are  three  to  one  — 
outnumber  the  natives  and  whites  collec- 
tively, and  the  equally  large  number  of 
Chinese,  both  give  cause  for  apprehen- 
sion. Many  are  afraid  that  the  Japanese 
will  demand  the  right  to  vote,  and  that 
140 


An  Island  God 

back  of  it  all  Japan  wanted  Hawaii  as 
a  colony.  One  of  the  most  prosperous 
periods  which  the  country  ever  enjoyed 
followed  the  suppression  of  the  royalist 
party  in  1895.  The  government  con- 
tinually gained  the  support  of  the  natives, 
and  industries  and  public  works  made 
rapid  advances.  Still  Hawaiians  hoped 
for  annexation  to  America  as  a  means 
of  giving  perfect  safety  and  stability. 

Upon  the  election  of  President  Mc- 
Kinley,  annexation  was  again,  in  1897, 
brought  to  the  consideration  of  the 
United  States  Senate,  but  no  definite 
action  was  taken.  Owing  to  delay, 
partly  due  to  the  hostilities  with  Spain, 
the  matter  was  not  again  taken  up  until 
the  following  year.  Finally,  on  July  6, 
1898,  the  Senate  passed  the  annexation 
treaty,  which  was  signed  by  President 
McKinley  on  the  following  day.  On 
August  12,  1898,  at  Honolulu,  Presi- 
dent Dole  formally  ceded  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  republic  of  Hawaii  to 
the  United  States.  While  not  all  Ha- 
141 


An  Island  God 

waiian  citizens  desired  annexation,  cer- 
tainly all  American  residents,  and  probably 
a  majority  of  the  natives  favored  it. 

Under  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
union  with  the  United  States,  prosperity 
will  increase  even  beyond  its  present 
high  point,  and  the  revenue  from  sugar, 
coffee,  and  other  tropical  products  will 
make  Hawaii  one  of  the  richest  coun- 
tries in  the  world. 


142 


THOMAS 

NICKERSON 

BOOKS 

HONOLULU 


